Quantbot Technologies LP Grows Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 712.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,642 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,578 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Linde were worth $3,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. now owns 69,400 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 48,144 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,156,000 after buying an additional 2,722 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $224,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.9 %

Linde stock traded up $3.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $461.43. 1,597,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,476. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The business's 50-day moving average price is $454.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.19.

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Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business'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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was 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 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup decreased 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.