Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO Has $3.47 Million Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Lincoln Electric comprises 1.5% of Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LECO. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,381,000 after acquiring an additional 4,770 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $925,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2,984.6% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 439,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,479,000 after purchasing an additional 424,831 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 126,573 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,525,000 after purchasing an additional 27,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $13,377,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $188.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,239,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,327. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.00 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.17.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, April 29th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $236.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $225.29.

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.