921 Shares in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Acquired by True North Advisors LLC

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC has acquired 921 shares of Linde PLC, valued at approximately $429,000, during the first quarter, indicating a growing interest in the basic materials sector.
• Significant institutional investments have been noted, with Capital World Investors increasing its stake by 34.4% and holding over $4.8 billion worth of shares in Linde PLC.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, representing a yield of 1.3% and an annual dividend payout of $6.00, with a payout ratio of 42.67%.

True North Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 921 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JFG Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Linde by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. JFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,549 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $721,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Linde by 11.0% during the 1st quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 8,020 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,735,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,365 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,567,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Linde by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 41,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,246,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $226,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $473.23. 1,347,678 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,364. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $467.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. Linde's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $519.63.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's 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 sale, the vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 59,557 shares of company stock worth $28,037,479. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.