Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Stake Cut by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 65.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,466 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 619.3% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 132.9% during the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $229.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $249.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.83 and a 200-day moving average of $223.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LECO. Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Roth Capital set a $285.00 target price on Lincoln Electric and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.00.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, SVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.23, for a total transaction of $233,230.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,177 shares in the company, valued at $2,140,351.71. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 2.63% 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.