Woodline Partners LP Takes $11.97 Million Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,595 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $11,972,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. 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 equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Trading Up 1.4%

LIN stock traded up $6.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $465.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 537,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,111. The company has a market cap of $218.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $451.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $447.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 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 issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.