Bessemer Group Inc. Has $547,000 Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 55.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,349 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 279.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 77.1% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at $195,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Lincoln Electric news, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total value of $726,540.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at $4,643,317.14. This represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total value of $3,014,500.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 in the last 90 days. 2.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $234.45 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $249.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $238.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.23.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $247.00.

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.