Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp reduced its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 91.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 85,820 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth $1,125,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $1,858,000. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $834,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,042,000. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,642 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’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 value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $219.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $196.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.80%.

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.