Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Main Street Research LLC

Main Street Research LLC grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,516 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Main Street Research LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $27,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wrapmanager Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in Linde by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its position in Linde by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $468.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $444.80 and its 200-day moving average is $455.24. The company has a market cap of $221.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

About Linde

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.