BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 27.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,799 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,827 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,210,000 after purchasing an additional 891,111 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,831,000 after purchasing an additional 494,464 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,592,000 after buying an additional 256,872 shares during the period. Absher Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,604,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at $23,233,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $209.92 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $203.12 and a 200 day moving average of $195.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.16.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.00.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.