Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Acquires New Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Key Points

• Nicolet Advisory Services LLC has acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., purchasing 1,281 shares valued at approximately $227,000.
• Lincoln Electric recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.60 EPS, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.32 and posting a revenue increase of 6.6% year-over-year.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share will be paid on October 15th, representing an annual yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 33.71%.

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,281 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth about $110,062,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15,932.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 336,682 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $63,118,000 after buying an additional 334,582 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22,146.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 291,874 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,211,000 after buying an additional 290,562 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 16.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,351,223 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $255,597,000 after buying an additional 188,104 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 51.2% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 405,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $76,715,000 after buying an additional 137,330 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $243.84. The stock had a trading volume of 425,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $161.11 and a 52 week high of $245.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $211.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $198.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.21.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 39.79% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company's revenue was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.