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

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,322 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 3,894 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Lincoln Electric worth $5,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 194.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 106 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in 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 purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $221.67.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ LECO traded down $4.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.77. 201,782 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 319,568. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $164.00 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $201.54. The company has a market cap of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 42.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 31.85%.

About Lincoln Electric

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.