Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases 1,771 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings by 123.4% during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 3,206 shares valued at approximately $606,000.
• Lincoln Electric recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, with a payout ratio of 33.71% and an annual yield of 1.3%.
• In its latest earnings release, Lincoln Electric reported $2.60 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.28, along with a revenue increase of 6.6% compared to the previous year.

Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 123.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,206 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $606,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.6%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $1.51 on Wednesday, hitting $243.62. 198,021 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,910. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $246.83. The company has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.21.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of 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 upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,254,903.34. The trade was a 19.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 2.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.