Pullen Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Key Points

• Pullen Investment Management purchased 4,982 shares of Lincoln Electric in the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.32 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.61% of the company.
• Lincoln Electric exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $2.93 in EPS and $1.22 billion in revenue, with revenue rising 12% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.87 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.48 and a 1.4% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $306.78 price target.

Pullen Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,982 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,318,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norris Perne & French LLP MI purchased a new position in Lincoln Electric in the third quarter valued at about $680,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 72.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 2,617 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 654 shares in the last quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 43,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,636,000 after buying an additional 3,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Lincoln Electric stock opened at $255.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $13.95 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $268.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.59. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $216.22 and a one year high of $310.00.

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

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 31st will be paid a $0.87 dividend. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 31st. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Lincoln Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LECO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $271.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $257.00 to $283.00 in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lincoln Electric has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $306.78.

About Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc NASDAQ: LECO is a global manufacturer of welding, cutting and industrial automation products. The company serves customers in industries including construction, manufacturing, energy, transportation and heavy equipment.

Its product portfolio includes arc-welding equipment, welding consumables such as electrodes and welding wire, plasma-cutting systems, welding accessories and personal protective equipment. Lincoln Electric also provides robotic and automated welding systems, industrial automation solutions, application engineering, training and maintenance services.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LECO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.