Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $721,000 Stock Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 75.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,811 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,633 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,601,734 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,050,157,000 after purchasing an additional 18,805 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,735,527 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $325,359,000 after purchasing an additional 234,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,344,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 2.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 31,033 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Lincoln Electric by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 726,112 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $136,124,000 after acquiring an additional 75,651 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $216.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 257,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 321,410. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.11 and a fifty-two week high of $222.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.46 and a 200-day moving average of $193.76.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.22 by ($0.06). Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 39.44%. The firm had revenue of $365.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $974.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LECO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $179.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $206.40.

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.