Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 658 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $9,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $464.82. 341,155 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,217,702. The business's 50 day moving average price is $458.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $449.50. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $218.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.75 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $510.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.