Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,726,698 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 124,118 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $413,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,125,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $258.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.13 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $259.67 and its 200 day moving average is $259.67.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.