Raleigh Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 284 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth $214,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,123 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713 shares in the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth $307,000. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter worth $11,888,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of LECO opened at $195.77 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $189.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.00 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.06.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.67.

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.