Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 162,676 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Linde were worth $71,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN traded down $0.67 on Friday, reaching $463.79. The stock had a trading volume of 2,634,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,547. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $458.94 and a 200 day moving average of $449.70. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The company's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LIN. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.