XTX Topco Ltd Makes New $2.22 Million Investment in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,224,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,598,551,000 after buying an additional 30,750 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $2,901,853,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Linde by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,818,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,598,737,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,105,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,300,092,000 after acquiring an additional 89,408 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Linde by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.9 %

LIN traded up $4.13 on Friday, reaching $452.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,726,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,223. The business's 50 day moving average is $455.63 and its 200 day moving average is $451.37. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

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.