Aigen Investment Management LP Takes $1.88 Million Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,480 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,876,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $461.35 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $442.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.07. 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

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.