Gotham Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,547 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 567 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $10,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its stake in Linde by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,097 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Linde by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 103,241 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares during the last quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC grew its stake in Linde by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 14,771 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,184,000 after acquiring an additional 7,898 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Linde by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,916 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Linde Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $8.25 during trading on Thursday, hitting $454.22. The company had a trading volume of 2,278,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,940,948. The stock has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $451.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $448.04. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.