Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,331,319 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 40,563 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Linde worth $546,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 310.0% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 347.6% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $468.83.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Monday, reaching $434.78. 1,231,554 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,182,423. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $350.60 and a 52-week high of $477.71. The company has a market cap of $208.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $453.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.57.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company's revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,809,695.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total transaction of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,948 shares of company stock valued at $35,687,605 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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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