Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 24.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,758 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 564 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Threadgill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.6% in the first quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 26,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,673,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $194.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $188.50 and a 200-day moving average of $203.85. 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 $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.33.

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.