Insider Selling: Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Sells 14,371 Shares of Stock

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Steven Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,899,031.85. The trade was a 18.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of LECO stock traded up $8.58 during trading on Monday, reaching $285.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 276,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 385,005. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $267.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.93. The company has a market capitalization of $15.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 40.06%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.47 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.38 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 30.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.11.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 1,631 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 5.1% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.8% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 4,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,117,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 9.4% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.