Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 106 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $385,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 40,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,727,000 after purchasing an additional 25,578 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $194.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.51 and a 12 month high of $261.13. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.93.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.60.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Lincoln Electric

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.