Robert W. Baird Cuts Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) Price Target to $252.00

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) had its price objective lowered by Robert W. Baird from $257.00 to $252.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an underweight rating and a $178.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $239.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $232.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $221.86.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $229.94 on Friday. Lincoln Electric has a 52-week low of $156.80 and a 52-week high of $261.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $248.23 and a 200 day moving average of $220.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $981.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 43.81% and a net margin of 13.23%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric will post 9.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors 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 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lincoln Electric

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LECO. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.8% in the first quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 5,719 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,461,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $854,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 188 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,825 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

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.