Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 254 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Fisher Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 482,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $92,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 48.0% during the second quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,747,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $518,210,000 after purchasing an additional 891,111 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 81.9% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,097,965 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,831,000 after buying an additional 494,464 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 525,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,155,000 after buying an additional 38,206 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 18,413.8% in 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. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.5% during the third quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 237,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,688,000 after acquiring an additional 7,962 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock opened at $219.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $169.51 and a one year high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.09. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. The business had revenue of $983.76 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $988.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 8.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.