Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric comprises about 1.5% of Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth $26,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.23 on Friday, reaching $188.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,239,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,327. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.00 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $208.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Loop Capital lowered 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. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.29.

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.