Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,162 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $507,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 2,244.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,759,000 after purchasing an additional 25,610 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Linde by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 91,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,827,000 after purchasing an additional 9,213 shares during the period. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its position in Linde by 100.0% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $467.09 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 50-day simple moving average of $457.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.