Norden Group LLC Reduces Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Norden Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 35.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,232 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the quarter. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $223.33 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $12.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $228.65.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $180.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.60.

Lincoln Electric 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.