Intech Investment Management LLC Sells 16,079 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Intech Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 68.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,572 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 16,079 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LECO. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd 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.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $3.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $216.14. The company had a trading volume of 197,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 317,449. The company's 50 day moving average price is $198.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.44. 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 cap of $12.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is 35.80%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. This represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.