WealthPLAN Partners LLC Sells 28,835 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 44.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,696 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 28,835 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.8% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,027 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 3.9% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 19,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,706,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at $591,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,200,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $716,620,000 after acquiring an additional 38,059 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.91% of the company's stock.

Shares of LECO stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $190.37. 174,280 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 378,152. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $120.01 and a 12-month high of $210.86. The company has a market cap of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.12. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 46.60% and a net margin of 12.04%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.18 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Saturday, September 30th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.26%.

In related news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 8,962 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.27, for a total value of $1,794,819.74. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,919,283.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 8,962 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.27, for a total value of $1,794,819.74. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,919,283.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Steven B. Hedlund sold 2,180 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.77, for a total value of $426,778.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 38,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,623,871.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,017 shares of company stock valued at $21,014,732. Corporate insiders own 2.90% of the company's stock.

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $176.00 to $211.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 30th. Oppenheimer cut Lincoln Electric from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. 888 reissued a "maintains" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, CL King began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, May 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $187.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on LECO

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, as well as consumables used in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

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