Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 397,665 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,378 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $74,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Elios Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $999,000. Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 85.5% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 8,180 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,771 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.5% in the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,688,000 after buying an additional 7,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $499,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ LECO opened at $215.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $194.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.07.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.