Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Holdings Raised by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,785 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,437 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $29,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $501.82.

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Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Trading Up 0.1 %

LIN stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $458.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,967,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,723,191. The firm has a market cap of $216.75 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $452.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.49.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

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.