Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 1,231 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at $68,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 459 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 517 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LECO traded up $2.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $223.47. The company had a trading volume of 330,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 323,969. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $161.11 and a 12 month high of $225.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.20.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $974.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.23 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric 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.