Gibbs Wealth Management Takes Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Gibbs Wealth Management purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $542,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 553.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $68,582,000 after acquiring an additional 29,505 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,017,000 after acquiring an additional 10,961 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LECO has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price objective on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.38.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $251.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business’s fifty day moving average is $259.93 and its 200 day moving average is $263.37. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $216.22 and a fifty-two week high of $310.00.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares in the company, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.