Ledyard National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Ledyard National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,123 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% during the third 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,345,000 after acquiring an additional 61,640 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 494,464 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $229.50.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $193.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.51 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $196.20 and its 200 day moving average is $196.10. The company has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.18.

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.