2,820 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $1,600,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $1,480,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $2,045,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in Linde by 156.3% in the 4th quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 10,121 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,146,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $1,679,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock traded down $1.91 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $445.06. 1,464,431 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,229,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $350.60 and a 1 year high of $477.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $454.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $419.43.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.04 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,271,882.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Mizuho upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $456.79.

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.

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