Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 69.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,951 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,511 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 75.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 17.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,035 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 7.2% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,609 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,250,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,378 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $24,851,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ LECO traded up $0.30 on Friday, hitting $223.08. 18,246 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 320,570. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $204.47 and a 200 day moving average of $195.68. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.11 and a twelve month high of $225.25. The company has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

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

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Lincoln Electric 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.