Natural Investments LLC Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,865,000. Linde comprises 1.1% of Natural Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value 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. Insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $462.06 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $218.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $445.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $455.24. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Research analysts predict 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. Investors 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Linde 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.