Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,471 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,617,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,974,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.0 %

LECO opened at $190.50 on Monday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $169.51 and a one year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $197.52 and its 200-day moving average is $197.01. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.