Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Invests $48.26 Million in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 115,270 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $48,260,000. Linde accounts for approximately 0.4% of Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $6.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $439.38. 1,682,174 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,921,518. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $457.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $452.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $207.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 over the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is 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.