Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $253,000 Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 56.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,339 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,747 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 5.8 %

LECO opened at $175.89 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $164.00 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LECO. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.29.

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.