Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by NZS Capital LLC

NZS Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,049 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,521 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 3.2% of NZS Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. NZS Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $74,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $498.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $453.23. 2,668,138 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,951,233. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $214.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $453.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.06.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.