Larson Financial Group LLC Acquires 281 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 98.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 81.1% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 172 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 151.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $227.93 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $249.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.21 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 45.09% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.65 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 30.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $210.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total value of $3,178,719.00. Following the completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

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.