7,030 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Acquired by Mufg Securities Americas Inc.

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,030 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,943,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Linde by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,834,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,598,551,000 after purchasing an additional 30,750 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Linde by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,857,741,000 after purchasing an additional 554,480 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $2,901,853,000. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $2,128,233,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded up $3.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $457.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,845,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap 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 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $451.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $447.77.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Linde's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded 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 note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.11.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.