Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $5.62 Million in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,995 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $5,623,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Lincoln Electric as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 12.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,462,232 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $474,527,000 after purchasing an additional 280,466 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 268,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $50,284,000 after purchasing an additional 147,239 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,163,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $218,050,000 after purchasing an additional 65,154 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 5.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $231,345,000 after purchasing an additional 61,640 shares during the period. Finally, Executive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at $8,029,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ LECO traded down $0.31 on Thursday, hitting $194.07. 429,647 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.25. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $197.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.95. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The firm has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $995.94 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is currently 36.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $233.60.

Insider Activity at Lincoln Electric

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.