Point72 Europe London LLP Buys New Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,020,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of 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 holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $454.22 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $450.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $447.89. The company has a market capitalization of $213.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

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 given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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 assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction 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 approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% 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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