Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 1,948 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,378 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,948 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 3.6% in the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 7,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter. Merrion Investment Management Co LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier lifted its position in shares of Linde by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. LA Financiere DE L Echiquier now owns 155,431 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $68,205,000 after buying an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $319,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 13,239 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,809,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $456.82. 1,115,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,945,987. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.58 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $361.02 and a 12 month high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $442.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $442.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 19.49%. Linde's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LIN. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $484.18.

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.