Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Raised by Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,149,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,095 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 4.8% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $471,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,692,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $644,986,000 after purchasing an additional 14,969 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,044,000. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $1,600,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its holdings in Linde by 156.3% in the 4th quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 10,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $1,679,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $503.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $448.93.

Linde Stock Up 1.6 %

Linde stock traded up $7.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $464.70. 1,570,311 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,690,232. The company’s 50-day moving average is $445.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.80. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $350.60 and a 52-week high of $477.71. The firm has a market cap of $223.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.88, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. Linde had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 17.06%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.