Entropy Technologies LP Acquires 1,100 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Entropy Technologies LP lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 174.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 107 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 41.5% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $184.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.67.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $210.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.88 billion, a PE ratio of 25.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $193.08 and a 200-day moving average of $197.56. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $983.76 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $988.07 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.03% and a net margin of 11.93%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.78 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.89%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.96, for a total transaction of $193,556.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,966,880.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

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.