Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Acquires New Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 28,128 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $11,776,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 49.2% during the 4th quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 670 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,224,000. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $812,000. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Linde by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 75,243 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,502,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,533 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,898,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $452.12. 1,726,051 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,223. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $455.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $451.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

About Linde

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.