Naples Global Advisors LLC Acquires 290 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 53,564 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,042,000 after purchasing an additional 13,111 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 87,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,450,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Regents Gate Capital LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,024,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 147,239 shares during the period. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 193,578 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,290,000 after acquiring an additional 2,465 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $213.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $194.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.85. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.51 and a 52-week high of $261.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.54. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 40.03%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $216.00 to $211.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.50.

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.