Impax Asset Management Group plc Buys 56,775 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 56,775 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 4.5% of Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.50% of Linde worth $1,130,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $315,000. Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 6.7% during the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,416,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 36.5% during the first quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 232 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,084,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $458.32. 1,598,500 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,833,603. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $385.12 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $472.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.