Federated Hermes Inc. Lowers Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,645 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,058,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted 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 worth $73,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $180.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $242.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.09 and a 200 day moving average of $197.11.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.41% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp lifted 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, February 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $178.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.00.

About Lincoln Electric

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.