Clare Market Investments LLC Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $801,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 stake 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 stake 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 stake 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 stake 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. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $201.67 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $196.98 and a 200-day moving average of $197.15. The firm has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LECO. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.60.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.