Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $41.08 Million Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC has increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 0.9%, now owning approximately $41.08 million worth of shares, which represents 1.8% of their investment portfolio.
• CEO Steven B. Hedlund recently sold 12,387 shares for over $3 million, resulting in an 18.15% decrease in his ownership stake in the company.
• Lincoln Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, marking an increase from the previous dividend of $0.75, with a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 198,169 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,825 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Electric comprises 1.8% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Lincoln Electric worth $41,084,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first 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 increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first 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. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at $209,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at $7,254,903.34. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock worth $5,745,148. 2.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $242.95 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20. The business's fifty day moving average is $239.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.48. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $249.19.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%.The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on LECO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.50.

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.

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