May Hill Capital LLC Takes $258,000 Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 6.3 %

Shares of Linde stock traded down $29.26 on Friday, hitting $437.96. The company had a trading volume of 4,430,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,894,257. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $458.22 and a 200-day moving average of $453.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde 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.