10,583 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO Bought by Bell Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Bell Asset Management acquired 10,583 Lincoln Electric shares in the third quarter, valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.61% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with Lincoln Electric receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $307.22.
• Lincoln Electric reported quarterly earnings of $2.93 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 12% year over year to $1.22 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, representing a 1.2% annualized yield.

Bell Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,583 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,800,000. Lincoln Electric accounts for about 1.0% of Bell Asset Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,431,181,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $956,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,700,000. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric during the second quarter worth about $44,811,000. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LECO. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $257.00 to $283.00 in a report on Monday, August 10th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, August 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $340.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $307.22.

Lincoln Electric Trading Down 1.7%

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $258.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $14.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.21. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $216.22 and a 12 month high of $310.00. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $272.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.69.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.23%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 11.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.57%.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc is a Cleveland, Ohio-based manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves manufacturers, fabricators, construction companies, maintenance and repair operations, utilities, and other industrial customers.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories, and related safety products. Lincoln Electric also provides automated and robotic welding systems, engineered solutions, training, and technical support.

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