Keybank National Association OH Trims Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Keybank National Association OH trimmed its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 700,923 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,010 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH owned about 1.25% of Lincoln Electric worth $132,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $307,344,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $110,062,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,117,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,118,000 after acquiring an additional 334,582 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22,146.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 291,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,211,000 after acquiring an additional 290,562 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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 cut Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $216.12. 257,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 321,410. The firm's 50-day moving average is $196.86 and its 200-day moving average is $193.64. The stock has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $222.52.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.