Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $29,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $460.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $449.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.70. The stock has a market cap of $217.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

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.