Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 2,752 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,752 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Lincoln Electric worth $52,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,832 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.6% in the first quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,241 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 1,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LECO. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday. DA Davidson started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 target price (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO traded up $4.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $250.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 212,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,062. The stock has a market cap of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $263.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $262.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.06 and a 12 month high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.