Meixler Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 5,349 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Meixler Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 461.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,349 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Electric comprises approximately 0.9% of Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Meixler Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 708 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $234.45 on Friday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $249.19. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Lincoln Electric’s payout ratio is 33.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lincoln Electric news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 55,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,595,549.76. This represents a 18.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gabriel Bruno sold 7,305 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.42, for a total value of $1,770,878.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 29,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,254,903.34. This represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 23,692 shares of company stock worth $5,745,148 in the last quarter. 2.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LECO. Roth Capital set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.00.

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.