Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 84.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,826 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,873 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,709,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,458,387,000 after buying an additional 15,062 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $518,210,000 after acquiring an additional 891,111 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,856,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $474,129,000 after acquiring an additional 121,914 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $99,155,000 after purchasing an additional 38,206 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $49,592,000 after purchasing an additional 256,872 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 2.2 %

LECO traded up $4.63 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $218.28. 247,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,271. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $191.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $197.64.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change 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 33.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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 cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.