Short Interest in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Grows By 5.8%

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) saw a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,280,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the September 30th total of 4,990,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LIN. Barclays increased their price objective on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $484.18.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $473.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $226.05 billion, a PE ratio of 36.03, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde has a 1 year low of $376.70 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $473.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.70.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde will post 15.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,676,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,744,033,000 after buying an additional 405,952 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after buying an additional 15,187 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,365,647,000 after buying an additional 218,746 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.4% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,986,000 after acquiring an additional 56,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 8.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,993,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $874,908,000 after acquiring an additional 160,355 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.