Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 51.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 137,330 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.72% of Lincoln Electric worth $76,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 75.0% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 1,633 shares in the last quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,194,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $502,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,475 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Albert D Mason Inc. boosted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 6.2% during the first quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 6,786 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LECO. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $206.40.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $201.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 154,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 319,161. The company has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $190.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.73. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $222.52. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.44% and a net margin of 11.44%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

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.