Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 439,536 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned 0.09% of Linde worth $184,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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, January 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

Linde Trading Down 0.3 %

LIN stock traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $448.40. 1,865,299 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,159. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $454.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 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, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. 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 is 44.09%.

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.