Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,684 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,003 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3,700.0% during the third quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 82.4% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3,860.0% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Lincoln Electric and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $286.13 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $262.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.26.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.35% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.57 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.91%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.