1,365 Shares in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Acquired by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,365 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth approximately $68,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $211.40.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

LECO stock traded down $0.80 on Friday, reaching $221.98. 203,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 321,160. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $205.19 and a 200-day moving average of $195.98. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $225.25. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.23 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

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.