American National Bank & Trust Sells 1,948 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

American National Bank & Trust decreased its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 76.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 610 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,948 shares during the quarter. American National Bank & Trust's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded up $3.36 on Thursday, reaching $198.73. 461,921 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 325,721. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $222.52. The company has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.13 and a 200 day moving average of $194.42.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.63% and a return on equity of 40.19%. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LECO. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Barclays raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

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.