Csenge Advisory Group Makes New $514,000 Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Csenge Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LECO. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 40.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,561,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $656,165,000 after acquiring an additional 5,354,141 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. acquired a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth $44,811,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,148,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.2% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 693,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $183,383,000 after buying an additional 34,050 shares during the period. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

LECO stock opened at $282.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.19. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $268.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $267.13.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.06% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.40 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 31st will be given a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares in the company, valued at $17,899,031.85. This represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LECO. Weiss Ratings lowered Lincoln Electric from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $283.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.11.

Lincoln Electric Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. is a manufacturer of welding, cutting and automation products. Its offerings include arc-welding equipment and consumables, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, robotic welding solutions and related automation technologies, as well as brazing and soldering products. Founded in 1895 by John C. Lincoln, the company serves customers across a range of industries, including manufacturing, infrastructure, energy and transportation. Its products and services are sold in markets around the world through its international operations and distribution network.