Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Shares Purchased by Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECOFree Report) by 14.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,664 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 5,905 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $11,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LECO. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, United Community Bank purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LECO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $299.38.

Read Our Latest Analysis on LECO

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $251.47 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $216.22 and a 1-year high of $310.00. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 25.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $259.93 and a 200-day moving average of $263.37.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECOGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 32.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

About Lincoln Electric

(Free Report)

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO)

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