Sone Capital Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 54,784 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $22,936,000. Linde comprises about 2.9% of Sone Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. boosted its position in Linde by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Linde by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $88,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $625,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Linde by 53.6% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 168,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,337,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded up $3.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $459.00. 1,653,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,945,610. The company has a market capitalization of $216.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $447.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.11.

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.