New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 6,267 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,267 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.21% of Lincoln Electric worth $26,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.9% in 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 increased its stake 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 valued at $26,017,000 after purchasing an additional 10,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Lincoln Electric from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research cut Lincoln Electric from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Lincoln Electric from $209.00 to $208.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Lincoln Electric Price Performance

NASDAQ LECO opened at $265.35 on Friday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $161.11 and a one year high of $268.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $248.05 and a 200 day moving average of $239.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $14.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.26.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.08. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.56% and a return on equity of 40.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Profile

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.