Navigoe LLC Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Navigoe LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,901,853,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Linde by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,834,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,604 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 56,467.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,041 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Linde by 2,293.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after buying an additional 749,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $308,251,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $450.58 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $453.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.06. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $213.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors 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 yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target 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 given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

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.