Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stake Cut by Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning cut its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 839 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Mariner LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 25.4% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 8,080 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after buying an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 17,821 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,240,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.9% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,127 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.5% during the third quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 25,298 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,599,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the third quarter worth about $3,093,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $185.67 on Thursday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $164.00 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. The company had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.29.

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.