Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Grows Position in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 83.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,470 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,180,000 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. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lincoln Electric by 24,685.8% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,839,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $956,360,000 after buying an additional 3,824,077 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $415,155,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Lincoln Electric by 5,862.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,271,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $304,670,000 after buying an additional 1,250,041 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric in the 4th quarter worth about $146,135,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lincoln Electric by 439.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 596,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,691,000 after acquiring an additional 486,090 shares in the last quarter. 79.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LECO has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 price target on Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $299.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In related news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

Shares of Lincoln Electric stock opened at $258.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $263.97 and its 200 day moving average is $262.51. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $213.71 and a 1 year high of $310.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.07 billion. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.38% and a return on equity of 39.33%. Lincoln Electric’s revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 10.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.61%.

Lincoln Electric Company 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.