Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,012 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 2.3% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Linde were worth $21,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Linde by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after purchasing an additional 408,659 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 7.4% during the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.2% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $460.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $439.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.