Voloridge Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2,411.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 413,292 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 396,838 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 0.6% of Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Linde worth $173,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $892,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,286 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,589,000 after purchasing an additional 9,526 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Linde by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 10,227 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,282,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $460.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $451.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $447.56. The company has a market cap of $216.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Linde 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.

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