Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Holdings Boosted by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,277 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Linde were worth $23,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Linde by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,834,631,000 after buying an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,598,551,000 after buying an additional 30,750 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Linde by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,857,741,000 after purchasing an additional 554,480 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $2,901,853,000. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $2,128,233,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded up $3.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $457.77. 1,845,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,775. The stock has a market cap of $215.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $451.02 and a 200 day moving average of $447.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.