Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC cut its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,059 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LECO. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.43.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $3.30 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $194.05. The stock had a trading volume of 89,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,734. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.37.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.44 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

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.