Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Acquired by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,421 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,262 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $4,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LECO. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $255,597,000 after purchasing an additional 188,104 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,235,582 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,691,000 after buying an additional 31,033 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Lincoln Electric by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 726,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $136,124,000 after buying an additional 75,651 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at $110,062,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 535,434 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $100,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.7%

LECO stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $240.28. 89,291 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 352,094. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $214.37 and a 200-day moving average of $199.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $246.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 33.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.40.

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.