Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Holdings Increased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 20.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 372.8% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 56,467.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,041 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,593,000 after acquiring an additional 749,763 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 131.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,342,000 after acquiring an additional 353,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $121,442,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $466.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $220.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $443.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $455.24.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS 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 given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

About Linde

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.