Pacer Advisors Inc. Grows Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,772 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $33,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $454.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $453.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $216.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

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.