Quantinno Capital Management LP Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Quantinno Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 228,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,827 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $56,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LECO. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,034,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total value of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 3.5%

LECO stock opened at $257.99 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $260.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.72. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $216.22 and a 52 week high of $310.00. The company has a market cap of $14.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.85 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 Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.