Allstate Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2,958.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,755 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Linde were worth $5,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $459.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $456.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (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, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.