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

Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,261 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,145 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter worth approximately $227,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 38.6% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 76,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,408,000 after acquiring an additional 21,231 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 36.4% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 7,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the first quarter worth $2,275,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $241.14 on Monday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $244.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $13.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.89.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.40.

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.