Aquatic Capital Management LLC Invests $18.13 Million in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,302 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $18,129,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN traded down $3.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $449.50. 1,377,480 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,374,220. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.58 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.09.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

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.