Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $2.65 Million Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Bridges Investment Management Inc. has increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. by 9.3%, now owning $2.65 million worth of shares after acquiring an additional 1,083 shares in the second quarter.
• Lincoln Electric recently announced a dividend increase, raising its quarterly payment to $0.79, with an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 33.71%.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $2.60, exceeding analyst estimates of $2.32, and a revenue of $1.09 billion, up 6.6% year-over-year.

Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,083 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the 1st 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 in 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, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the first quarter valued at approximately $195,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $238.31 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. The firm has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $239.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $214.14. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year 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. The company 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 business's revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,692 shares of company stock worth $5,745,148 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Friday, September 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $239.33.

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.

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