Yousif Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,387 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 81.8% in the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 6,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 2,700 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 98.3% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 567 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 3,659 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of LECO stock opened at $227.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.24 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.21 and a 1-year high of $261.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $249.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.38.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.01% and a return on equity of 45.09%. Lincoln Electric’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.31%.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other Lincoln Electric news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total value of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Geoffrey P. Allman sold 3,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.33, for a total transaction of $834,202.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,819.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Gabriel Bruno sold 12,820 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.95, for a total transaction of $3,178,719.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 22,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,575.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $257.00 to $252.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.00.

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.