220,600 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN Bought by Markel Group Inc.

Key Points

• Markel Group initiated a Linde position, buying 220,600 shares worth approximately $104.7 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of the stock.
• Linde beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $4.59 and revenue of $9.40 billion; revenue rose 9.3% year over year.
• Analysts give Linde a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $553.05. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% annual yield.

Markel Group Inc. bought a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 220,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $104,708,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 74.2% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in Linde by 96.6% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 1,450.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $542.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Linde from $577.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.05.

Linde Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $511.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $234.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $548.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $484.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.09.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 19.34%. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is 42.52%.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

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