Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 9,470 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 83.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,470 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $5,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. United Community Bank bought a new position in Lincoln Electric during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lincoln Electric by 980.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LECO opened at $258.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.20. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $213.71 and a one year high of $310.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $263.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.51.

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

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lincoln Electric

In other news, EVP Michael J. Whitehead sold 845 shares of Lincoln Electric stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.81, for a total transaction of $232,214.45. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,560,954.39. The trade was a 8.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LECO. Stifel Nicolaus set a $275.00 target price on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson assumed coverage on Lincoln Electric in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective (down from $350.00) on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Lincoln Electric from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.00.

Lincoln Electric 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.