Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Decreased by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,131 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 131 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $400,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 21,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,974,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO opened at $176.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business’s 50 day moving average is $194.84 and its 200-day moving average is $197.34. The stock has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $243.91.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.