1,371 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Bought by Gallacher Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired 1,371 shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, valued at approximately $284,000, as part of their new position in the company.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Lincoln Electric, with a price target range of $239.33 to $280.00.
• Lincoln Electric recently reported a 6.6% year-over-year revenue increase, with earnings per share of $2.60 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 shares of 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 shares of 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $238.29. 916,292 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,803. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $236.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.66. The company has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $161.11 and a 12-month high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Roth Capital started 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. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $239.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.