Algert Global LLC Purchases 1,770 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Algert Global LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. by 14.5% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to $2.64 million.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings for Lincoln Electric, with price targets ranging from $212.00 to $280.00 and an overall average rating of "Hold".
• Lincoln Electric announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on October 15th.

Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $68,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $110,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 36.1% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $231.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock traded up $7.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $245.25. The stock had a trading volume of 187,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 354,232. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $246.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $224.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.56. The stock has a market cap of $13.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

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.