Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Lowered by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire lowered its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,987 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 454 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.8% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.1% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 169,132. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $169.51 and a one year high of $261.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $203.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.95.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is currently 35.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $195.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.17.

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.