Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 21.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,709,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,458,387,000 after acquiring an additional 15,062 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,210,000 after purchasing an additional 891,111 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,856,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $474,129,000 after purchasing an additional 121,914 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,155,000 after buying an additional 38,206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 226,846 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,946,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $193.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $189.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.40. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.63 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on LECO. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.