Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 4,291 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 442,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,291 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $105,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 553.4% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 362,561 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $68,582,000 after purchasing an additional 29,505 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 137,540 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $26,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,961 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 980.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LECO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price target (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $296.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $263.43 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $257.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.65. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $188.65 and a 52-week high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 39.33% and a net margin of 12.38%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. Lincoln Electric’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.61%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: LECO) is a global manufacturer and distributor of welding products, robotic welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment, and surface treatment systems. The company’s portfolio encompasses welding consumables such as electrodes and wires, as well as power sources, torches, and automated welding cells. Lincoln Electric also offers software solutions and training services designed to optimize productivity and quality in fabrication and manufacturing operations.

Founded in 1895 by John C.