Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 126.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,214 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Linde were worth $16,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $169,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 67,872 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,416,000 after buying an additional 7,068 shares during the period. Mirova grew its position in Linde by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Mirova now owns 12,710 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,321,000 after buying an additional 3,091 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 41,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,500,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 126,110 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $52,798,000 after acquiring an additional 1,110 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $452.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average is $455.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.04. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 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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