Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys 3,947 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,947 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.05% of Lincoln Electric worth $6,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 619.3% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 132.9% in the second quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.3%

LECO stock opened at $229.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $249.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.83. The company has a market capitalization of $12.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase 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 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Roth Capital set a $285.00 target price on Lincoln Electric and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.00.

Lincoln Electric 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.