Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $1.11 Billion Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Linde PLC by 15.7%, owning 2,387,097 shares valued at approximately $1.11 billion as of their latest SEC filing.
• Several analysts have issued positive forecasts for Linde, with a consensus price target of $519.63 and most ratings being "Buy" or better.
• Linde declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, equating to an annual yield of 1.3%, with the payout set for September 18th.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,387,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 324,802 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.51% of Linde worth $1,111,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock traded down $1.57 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $478.51. 1,218,067 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,490,247. The firm has a market cap of $224.38 billion, a PE ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $468.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.24. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 42.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

About Linde

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.