Value Partners Investments Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 83.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.40.

Linde Stock Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $460.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $458.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $449.35. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.