Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Purchases 14,114 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,815 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,114 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 3.2% of Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Linde were worth $43,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Provence Wealth Management Group raised its holdings in Linde by 655.7% in the 4th quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group now owns 597 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,600,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,480,000. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 16,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $6,636,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $429.69. 1,839,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,165,195. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $350.60 and a 52 week high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $452.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.48.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.49 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $429.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Citigroup downgraded shares of Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $468.83.

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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