Cvfg LLC Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Cvfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 790 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $331,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. StrongBox Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC now owns 9,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,006,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,214,000. Flywheel Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $230,000. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,807 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN traded up $4.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $437.08. 972,734 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,236,478. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $437.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.91. The stock has a market cap of $208.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LIN. Mizuho boosted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $495.75.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.