Trust Point Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,682 Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,682 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $854,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,409 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock opened at $246.93 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $152.36 and a one year high of $261.13. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $245.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $213.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.24. The company has a market capitalization of $14.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.26. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $208.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.25.

Lincoln Electric 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.