Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Buys New Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 924,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $386,957,000. Linde accounts for approximately 0.8% of Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.19% of Linde as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Linde by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Linde by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $2,752,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,291 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,634,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $927,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. 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 Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $464.40. 4,344,668 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,338. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $451.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.85. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus 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.