Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 943 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $7,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 60.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $213.82 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.86. The firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target 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. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.25.

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.