Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Lifted by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 105,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 9,322 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. owned 0.19% of Lincoln Electric worth $19,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 75.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $721,000 after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,250,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth $5,623,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LECO traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, hitting $222.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 259,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,710. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $225.25. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $201.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $12.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.99%.

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.