Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Captrust Financial Advisors

Captrust Financial Advisors cut its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,814 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.0 %

LECO stock opened at $209.92 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.97.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released 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 company had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

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.