NorthRock Partners LLC Purchases 2,189 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 131.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $458.50. The company had a trading volume of 367,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,695. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $451.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $447.56.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LIN. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.

Insider Activity

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

Linde Company 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.