Steven B. Hedlund Sells 21,054 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This trade represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $207.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $194.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.51 and a 1 year high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.60.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.