Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 22,201 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.84% of Lincoln Electric worth $108,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $399,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 2.8% in the second quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% in the second quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $253.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price target on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.83.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 4.7%

Shares of LECO opened at $262.12 on Monday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $310.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $269.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $249.03.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 39.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 33.91%.

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.