Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 57.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,675 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,345,000 after purchasing an additional 61,640 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% during the 3rd 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. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 328,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $61,629,000 after acquiring an additional 6,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 256,872 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $191.25 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $195.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.50.

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.