Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Has $42.68 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 227,654 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $42,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $474,527,000 after acquiring an additional 280,466 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,592,000 after purchasing an additional 256,872 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 268,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,284,000 after purchasing an additional 147,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,604,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $207.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.53. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.51 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a PEG 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.