Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 127.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,653 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of LIN traded up $2.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $471.11. The company had a trading volume of 572,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,965,289. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $453.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $448.95. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

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.