972 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Acquired by Moment Partners LLC

Moment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $252,000. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in Linde by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Linde during the third quarter valued at about $507,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 2,191.7% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.43 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $454.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 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 capitalization of $218.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.