Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $3.03 Million Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,070 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 367 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $173.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $164.00 and a twelve month high of $261.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $193.74 and its 200 day moving average is $214.53.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.97 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 30.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.29.

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.