Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Acquires 2,119 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 52.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,169 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Linde were worth $2,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 133.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $444.81. 2,107,150 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,859,575. The stock's 50-day moving average is $464.12 and its 200 day moving average is $455.40. The stock has a market cap of $211.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.77, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.93. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.75.

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.