Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lowered its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 24.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,215 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $233,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $314,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. First Hawaiian Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $942,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $203.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $189.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.54. The stock has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $164.00 and a one year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 42.24% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric 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.