Bridges Investment Management Inc. Buys 1,083 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 9.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,647,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 75.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 17.2% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 7.2% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at about $261,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 20.1% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,841 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $238.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $249.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $239.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.14.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on LECO. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Capital began coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $239.33.

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.