Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases 4,358 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 6.0%, bringing their total ownership to 76,408 shares valued at approximately $15.84 million.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Lincoln Electric, with KeyCorp setting a new target of $280.00, reflecting a positive outlook for the company's stock.
• Lincoln Electric recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.

Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 6.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,408 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.14% of Lincoln Electric worth $15,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 3,208 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during 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. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LECO shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, September 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $239.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,643,317.14. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were 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 $13,595,549.76. This trade represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $236.72 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $238.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.00. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $249.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.22.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

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

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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