6,931,123 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 6,931,123 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,901,853,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $454.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $218.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.