Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) Shares Purchased by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 121.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,229 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 147,239 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 0.48% of Lincoln Electric worth $50,284,000 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. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Lincoln Electric by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 308.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 335 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 60.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the fourth quarter worth approximately $92,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.50.

Lincoln Electric Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ LECO traded up $1.75 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $193.00. The company had a trading volume of 256,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,316. The firm's 50 day moving average is $195.17 and its 200 day moving average is $195.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.51 and a fifty-two week high of $261.13. The company has a market capitalization of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.18.

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.