Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,641 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,175 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $36,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $510.40.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $466.60. 1,584,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,147. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $455.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.01. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $219.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.29%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.