Rossby Financial LCC Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,173 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $491,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $452.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,726,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,947,178. The firm has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $455.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $450.91. 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, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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