Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Lessened by Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,706 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,831,000 after purchasing an additional 494,464 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,527,000 after buying an additional 280,466 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,592,000 after buying an additional 256,872 shares during the period. Absher Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,604,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $23,233,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.4 %

LECO opened at $195.45 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $198.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.47. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric 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.