Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Boosted by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,667 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,147 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Linde were worth $38,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 34.9% in the 4th 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. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on Linde in a report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% 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 Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Linde stock traded down $4.55 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $465.98. 1,414,599 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,970,686. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $455.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $449.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $219.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The company's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.