Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,623 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,969 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of LECO traded down $3.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $213.65. 231,752 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,608. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $190.94 and its 200-day moving average is $198.36. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.80%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LECO. StockNews.com lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $221.67.

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.