498,633 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN Bought by King Luther Capital Management Corp

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management initiated a Linde position of 498,633 shares, valued at about $236.7 million and representing roughly 1% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of Linde.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.59 versus $4.52 expected and revenue of $9.40 billion, up 9.3% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $553.05. Linde also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

King Luther Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 498,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $236,676,000. Linde comprises approximately 1.0% of King Luther Capital Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.11% of Linde at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,076,000. Bingham Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 3.5% in the third quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,017 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 14.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 28,362 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $13,462,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 13.7% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,275 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,928,000 after purchasing an additional 995 shares during the period. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total value of $45,258,227.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,442,546.93. This represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total transaction of $4,851,808.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. The trade was a 29.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $574.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.05.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $526.55 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20. The stock's 50-day moving average is $488.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.50. The firm has a market cap of $241.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.52%.

Linde Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

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