Summit Global Investments Buys Shares of 1,692 Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,692 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth $315,000. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 104.9% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 26.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the first quarter worth about $223,000. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded down $5.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $459.48. 1,496,836 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,691,900. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $218.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $390.38 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.35.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm 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 business earned $3.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company 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.