Insider Selling: Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Sells 21,054 Shares of Stock

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $207.27 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.51 and a 12-month high of $261.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $995.94 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LECO. KeyCorp upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.60.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $848,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $551,000. Sovereign s Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,772,000. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $337,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $256,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% 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.