Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,766 shares during the quarter. Lincoln Electric accounts for approximately 1.8% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.35% of Lincoln Electric worth $37,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ LECO traded up $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $201.08. 287,698 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,590. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $161.11 and a 1-year high of $222.52. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $190.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.