Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,738 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,570 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,597,000 after purchasing an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,548,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 195.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 223,025 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,187,000 after buying an additional 147,483 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 504,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $104,589,000 after purchasing an additional 98,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 576.6% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 78,840 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,913,000 after buying an additional 67,187 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $236.21 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $249.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $236.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.02. The firm has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.25.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LECO. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $247.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Lincoln Electric

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total value of $233,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.

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