Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Position Boosted by Reliant Investment Management LLC

Reliant Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 3.3% of Reliant Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Reliant Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after acquiring an additional 154,792 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 0.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 372.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in 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 valued at $1,130,986,000 after acquiring an additional 56,775 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $436.00 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $436.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

Linde 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.