FORA Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

FORA Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,272 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $518,210,000 after acquiring an additional 891,111 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,831,000 after acquiring an additional 494,464 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 258,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,592,000 after acquiring an additional 256,872 shares in the last quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $24,604,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter worth $23,233,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO opened at $216.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $12.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $198.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $196.29. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total value of $193,556.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,880.88. The trade was a 8.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.00.

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.