Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires 31,194 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 193.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,278 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 31,194 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $19,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Linde Trading Up 0.8%

LIN stock traded up $3.55 during trading on Friday, hitting $457.77. 1,844,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,942,234. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $450.95 and a 200-day moving average of $447.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.

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.