Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Stock Holdings Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,772 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,701 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.17% of Lincoln Electric worth $18,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Lincoln Electric by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO traded up $1.96 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $220.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,319. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $225.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.33 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $195.44.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million during 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 firm's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.23 earnings per share. 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 was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LECO shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $211.40.

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.