Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's 6th Largest Position

SailingStone Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,783 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 8.7% of SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $25,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $709,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its position in Linde by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,999,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourpath Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $457.77 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $451.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $447.77. 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.31%. 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.

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