Cibc World Markets Corp Grows Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 44.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 498,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 152,944 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 1.2% of Cibc World Markets Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cibc World Markets Corp owned about 0.10% of Linde worth $208,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. First National Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co grew its holdings in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 10,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 511,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $213,374,000 after purchasing an additional 2,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $455.50 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $448.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.78. 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 market cap of $215.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.