Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Bridges Investment Management Inc.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,760 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,737 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 806 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,634 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,813,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock traded up $2.21 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $195.82. The company had a trading volume of 397,347 shares, compared to its average volume of 309,781. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $196.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.08. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.51 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $233.60.

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.