1,119 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Acquired by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after buying an additional 2,592,682 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 56,467.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,041 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Linde by 2,293.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,251,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in Linde by 467.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 827,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,780,000 after purchasing an additional 682,176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

Linde stock opened at $457.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $452.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.63. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $216.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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, topping 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, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.