Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 32,047 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 67.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,271 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,047 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 194.1% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Latitude Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $275.35 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $267.42 and its 200-day moving average is $266.48. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.17. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LECO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.11.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,899,031.85. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Its offerings include arc-welding equipment and consumables, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, robotic welding solutions and related automation technologies, as well as brazing and soldering products.

Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves customers across a range of industries, including manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and transportation. Its products and services are sold in markets around the world through its international operations and distribution network.

Lincoln Electric is headquartered in the Cleveland, Ohio, area.