Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 32.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,067 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YANKCOM Partnership boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,541 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 3.0% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,521 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $222.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 42,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 320,664. The company has a market capitalization of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $225.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $204.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.68. 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 issued its quarterly 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). 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. Analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. 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 several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.