Insider Selling: Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) CEO Sells 12,387 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Lincoln Electric CEO Steven Hedlund sold 12,387 shares at an average price of $243.36, totaling approximately $3 million, which reflects an 18.15% decrease in his holdings.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, to be paid on October 15th, with an annualized yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Lincoln Electric, with target prices ranging from $236 to $280 following recent upgrades by several financial firms.

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $234.28. 343,465 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,353. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $236.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.08. The firm has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. 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 released 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 net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 82.4% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the 1st 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. Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.