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

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC decreased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 80.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,151 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% during the fourth 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 bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,135,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 439.8% during the second 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 raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 675.0% during the third 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. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, May 1st. 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 report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, DA Davidson began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $273.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $260.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $260.32. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. 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.