Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock Sold by WealthPlan Investment Management LLC

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,411 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,722 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,755,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,077 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $44,811,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter worth $26,148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lincoln Electric from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $340.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of LECO stock traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $256.97. 125,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,773. The firm has a market cap of $14.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $271.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.18 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 31.57%.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves manufacturers, fabricators, construction companies, maintenance and repair operations, utilities, and other industrial customers.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories, and related safety products. Lincoln Electric also provides automated and robotic welding systems, engineered solutions, training, and technical support.