Sterling Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 770.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,052 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,912 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $15,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $498.00.

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Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $4.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $446.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,897,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,746. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $456.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.80. 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 stock has a market cap of $210.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.