Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Steven B. Hedlund Sells 21,054 Shares

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. The trade was a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded up $0.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $207.57. 63,575 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,565. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The stock has a market cap of $11.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $195.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $196.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.87.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS 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 return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Institutional Trading of Lincoln Electric

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LECO. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.60.

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.