Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 9,873 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 84.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,826 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,873 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $213.65 on Monday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.34 and its 200-day moving average is $197.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.14.

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. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.89%.

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.