Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Buys 1,276 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,620 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Linde were worth $10,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $104,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $142,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $386,957,000. Brucke Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $290,000. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its position in Linde by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,599 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,763,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $464.40. 4,344,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,966,976. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $451.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $447.79.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.75 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,725 shares of company stock valued at $5,385,750. Company 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.