2,880 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Purchased by Oxford Asset Management LLP

Oxford Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,880 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,206,000. Linde makes up approximately 0.6% of Oxford Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Linde stock traded down $4.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $448.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,327,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,111. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $453.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $450.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

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.