WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management cut its Lincoln Electric stake by 40.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 17,716 shares and leaving it with 25,919 shares valued at about $6.21 million.
• Lincoln Electric beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $2.50 versus $2.42 expected and revenue of $1.12 billion versus $1.07 billion expected; revenue also rose 11.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the consensus rating is “Hold” with an average price target of $296, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share payable July 15.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 40.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,919 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 17,716 shares during the quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $6,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,850,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $436,478,000 after buying an additional 72,826 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $304,670,000 after buying an additional 1,250,041 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 919,926 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $216,946,000 after buying an additional 221,853 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 850,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $200,517,000 after buying an additional 167,773 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 726,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $171,167,000 after purchasing an additional 130,332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $280.00 target price (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Roth Mkm reissued a "buy" rating and set a $297.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 2.0%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $260.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $258.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.43. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $188.65 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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