Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Holdings Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,165 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,231 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Lincoln Electric worth $14,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 7,724 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 2,062 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,275,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 1,847.1% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.9% in the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 188,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,580,000 after buying an additional 3,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $740,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded down $1.65 on Thursday, reaching $240.28. The company had a trading volume of 89,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,094. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $214.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $199.85. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $246.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap 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 (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 EPS. Lincoln Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on LECO shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note 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 note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.