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

Csenge Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,942 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $514,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln Electric by 11.0% in the third quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Burton Enright Welch boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 8.8% in the third quarter. Burton Enright Welch now owns 24,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,553,000 after acquiring an additional 2,002 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 693,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $183,383,000 after purchasing an additional 34,050 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on LECO shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lincoln Electric from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Lincoln Electric from $271.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $317.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $300.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.11.

Insider Transactions at Lincoln Electric

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 14,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.95, for a total transaction of $4,051,903.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,483 shares in the company, valued at $17,899,031.85. This trade represents a 18.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.68% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of LECO opened at $282.86 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $268.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $267.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

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

About Lincoln Electric

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.