Linde PLC $LIN Stake Increased by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Linde PLC by 38.8% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 598,009 shares valued at about $277.3 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Linde's rating, with Citigroup raising its price target from $500 to $535 and giving it a "buy" rating, while Royal Bank of Canada issued an "outperform" rating with a $576 target.
• Linde announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, and the dividend will be paid on September 18th to shareholders of record on September 4th.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 38.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 598,009 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 167,061 shares during the period. Linde makes up 0.5% of Aberdeen Group plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.13% of Linde worth $277,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.63.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $480.08. 1,951,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,490,247. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $468.28 and its 200-day moving average is $460.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.85 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.67%.

Linde Company 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.