Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.79

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, reflecting a 5.3% increase from the previous dividend of $0.75.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 30.1%, indicating that its dividend payments are well-supported by earnings.
• Insider sales included CEO Steven B. Hedlund selling 12,387 shares, leading to an 18.15% decrease in his ownership stake in the company.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.79 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, January 15th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a 5.3% increase from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75.

Lincoln Electric has a dividend payout ratio of 30.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Lincoln Electric to earn $10.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.8%.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ LECO opened at $238.49 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $239.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.16 billion, a PE ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $249.19.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.34 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,770,878.10. Following the sale, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 23,692 shares of company stock worth $5,745,148. 2.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth about $261,000. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 21,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

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.

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