Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Increased by Wahed Invest LLC

Wahed Invest LLC increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up approximately 0.9% of Wahed Invest LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Wahed Invest LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $5,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $5.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $447.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,387,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,476. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.85, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $453.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $448.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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