Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Raises Stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:LECO - Free Report) by 331.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,653 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,953 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC's holdings in Lincoln Electric were worth $2,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 255.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 174 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 54.1% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 299 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Lincoln Electric by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 389 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lincoln Electric during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. 79.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven B. Hedlund sold 21,054 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $4,536,505.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,660 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,777,590.20. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.63% of the company's stock.

Lincoln Electric Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:LECO traded up $2.16 on Thursday, reaching $197.92. 480,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,306. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.23 and a 200-day moving average of $195.57. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.11 and a 52-week high of $232.75.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $365.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $974.39 million. Lincoln Electric had a return on equity of 40.19% and a net margin of 11.63%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Lincoln Electric Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Lincoln Electric's payout ratio is 36.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lincoln Electric from $242.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lincoln Electric from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Lincoln Electric from $245.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lincoln Electric from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lincoln Electric currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.17.

About Lincoln Electric

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.