Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Mirova

Mirova lifted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,710 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the quarter. Mirova's holdings in Linde were worth $5,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock 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 research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $452.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $455.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.04. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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