Alps Advisors Inc. Buys New Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Alps Advisors opened a new Linde position, buying 29,141 shares worth approximately $13.8 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of the company.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.59 versus $4.52 expected and revenue of $9.40 billion versus $9.16 billion; revenue rose 9.3% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 21 analysts rated the stock Buy and the consensus price target was $553.05. Linde also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 29,141 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $13,832,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Linde by 3.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,344,181 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,558,016,000 after purchasing an additional 719,052 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 13.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,162,409 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,567,796,000 after purchasing an additional 373,012 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,740,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,358,712,000 after buying an additional 64,078 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Linde by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,624,728 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $805,475,000 after acquiring an additional 361,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.6% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,370,361 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $679,370,000 after purchasing an additional 85,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total transaction of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. This trade represents a 29.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Matthew J. 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,442,546.93. The trade was a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 price objective on Linde and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Linde from $574.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $553.05.

Linde Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $515.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $486.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $494.34. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20. The company has a market capitalization of $236.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

The company was formed in 2018 through the merger of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, bringing together businesses with long histories in industrial gases and engineering.

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