Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Holdings Trimmed by Beacon Financial Advisory LLC

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 80.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,151 shares during the quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,041 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after purchasing an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 675.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cartenna Capital LP now owns 310,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,107,000 after purchasing an additional 270,000 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO opened at $273.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.13 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $260.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.32.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.61%.

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.