2,146 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Acquired by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,146 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 133.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $490.75.

Linde Trading Down 0.7 %

Linde stock traded down $3.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $435.30. 2,254,458 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,860,406. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $461.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.24. The company has a market capitalization of $207.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.