Bowie Capital Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Bowie Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 47,234 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $19,775,000. Linde makes up 1.0% of Bowie Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock traded up $3.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $453.23. 1,625,252 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,935,277. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $448.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

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.