Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,067 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 323 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.43.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.9 %

LECO traded down $5.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.95. 140,393 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,366. The stock has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.67. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.51%. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.44 earnings per share. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 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.