Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Gap Down to $227.12

Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $227.12, but opened at $220.00. Lincoln Electric shares last traded at $207.76, with a volume of 176,724 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, April 29th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $241.00 to $238.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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 note on Friday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $228.00.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.24.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 43.81%. The business had revenue of $981.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is presently 30.15%.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 181,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,381,000 after buying an additional 4,770 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter worth about $925,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $13,377,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,110,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 361,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,642,000 after purchasing an additional 8,223 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.