Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Reduces Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 34.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,616 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 839 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.9% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $11,888,000. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $307,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.4% during the first 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 during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $185.67 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.15. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $164.00 and a one year high of $261.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $205.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.29.

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.