J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Has $36.76 Million Stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Linde PLC by 51.7%, now owning 78,956 shares valued at approximately $36.76 million.
• In recent trading, Linde's stock has seen increased analyst attention, with ratings upgrades and price targets raised by firms like UBS Group and Royal Bank Of Canada.
• Linde declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 43.57%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 51.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,918 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Linde were worth $36,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,834,631,000 after buying an additional 2,957,604 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,857,741,000 after buying an additional 554,480 shares during the period. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $2,128,233,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,925,322 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,062,085,000 after buying an additional 500,489 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Linde by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,818,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,598,737,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $7.99 during trading on Monday, hitting $467.40. 1,684,648 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,592,214. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average is $467.15 and its 200-day moving average is $457.93. Linde PLC has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $518.30.

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.