Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stock Holdings Reduced by Creative Planning

Creative Planning cut its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 619.3% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $209,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $229.00 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $233.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.44. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $249.19. The company has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 33.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Zacks Research lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,351.71. This represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.