Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Position Raised by Quantbot Technologies LP

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 712.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,642 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,578 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,618,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $5,536,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 70,422 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,581,000 after buying an additional 2,772 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in Linde by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Linde by 202.8% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,476,000 after acquiring an additional 7,691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.1 %

Linde stock opened at $458.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.49. 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 has a market capitalization of $216.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a PEG 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 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.