Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 121,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,368,000 after purchasing an additional 38,368 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 14.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,652,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth approximately $651,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth approximately $705,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 221.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 721 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of LECO stock opened at $216.62 on Thursday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric 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 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. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on LECO shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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 raised their price target 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, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.00.

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.