Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases 7,673 Shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. $LECO

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its position in shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO) by 69.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,673 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $3,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 279.6% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 353 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 77.1% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership increased its stake in Lincoln Electric by 12.2% in the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Lincoln Electric in the first quarter valued at $195,000. Institutional investors own 79.61% of the company’s stock.

Lincoln Electric Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LECO opened at $240.64 on Wednesday. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.11 and a 1 year high of $249.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $239.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.28. Lincoln Electric had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 39.79%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lincoln Electric Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Lincoln Electric’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Lincoln Electric’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LECO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Lincoln Electric in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Lincoln Electric in a report on Friday, September 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lincoln Electric from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $236.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 12,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.36, for a total transaction of $3,014,500.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,866 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,595,549.76. The trade was a 18.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Jennifer I. Ansberry sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.18, for a total transaction of $726,540.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,173 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,643,317.14. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 23,692 shares of company stock valued at $5,745,148 in the last three months. 2.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lincoln Electric Company Profile

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells welding, cutting, and brazing products worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Americas Welding, International Welding, and The Harris Products Group. It offers brazing and soldering filler metals, arc welding equipment, plasma and oxyfuel cutting systems, wire feeding systems, fume control equipment, welding accessories, and specialty gas regulators, and education solutions, as well as a portfolio of automated solutions for joining, cutting, material handling, module assembly, and end of line testing, as well as involved in brazing and soldering alloys, and in the retail business in the United States.