Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Position Raised by Kimelman & Baird LLC

Kimelman & Baird LLC grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,837 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,105 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 1.1% of Kimelman & Baird LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Kimelman & Baird LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $13,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 6.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,320,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 7.5% in the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,113 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,961,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Linde by 12.0% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,751 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $458.33. 4,967,504 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,731,209. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $452.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.