Dnca Finance Boosts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Dnca Finance increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,640 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,860 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 2.6% of Dnca Finance's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Dnca Finance's holdings in Linde were worth $33,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. increased its holdings in Linde by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $88,505,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $625,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $447.50. 973,353 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,282. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $211.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $454.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business'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 $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.