Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) is Quaero Capital S.A.'s 5th Largest Position

Quaero Capital S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,677 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,320 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 3.1% of Quaero Capital S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Quaero Capital S.A.'s holdings in Linde were worth $2,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Knuff & Co LLC increased its position in Linde by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 5.3% in the 4th 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 period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Rockingstone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 on the stock. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.40.

Linde Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $464.46 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $458.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.50. The company has a market capitalization of $218.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.97.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. Linde's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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