Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Increased by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 81.1% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 151.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,575.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LECO. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $228.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $222.93. The stock had a trading volume of 199,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,561. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.23. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.00 and a 52 week high of $261.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

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.