Skylands Capital LLC Sells 3,340 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Skylands Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 14.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,340 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 151.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.86.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded down $4.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $225.47. 237,310 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 283,178. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.83 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $248.23 and its 200-day moving average is $220.22. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $164.00 and a 12-month high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

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.