Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,714 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP's holdings in Linde were worth $1,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 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 represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $498.00.

Linde Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of LIN stock traded up $2.02 on Wednesday, reaching $452.99. The company had a trading volume of 576,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,910. The stock has a market cap of $214.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $455.94 and a 200-day moving average of $451.56. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

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.