Linde PLC $LIN Shares Newly Bought by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Key Points

• Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired 56,711 Linde shares in the third quarter, worth approximately $26.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.8% of the company.
• Linde reported quarterly earnings of $4.59 per share, beating estimates of $4.52, while revenue of $9.4 billion exceeded expectations and rose 9.3% year over year.
• Linde announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to $6.40 annually and a 1.3% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $553.05 average price target.

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 56,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $26,918,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its stake in Linde by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 74.2% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 1,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $511.55 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $548.20. 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 company has a market cap of $234.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $484.60 and its 200 day moving average is $493.09.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 42.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. DZ Bank restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, October 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.05.

About Linde

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

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