4,434 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Purchased by MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC

MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,000. Linde accounts for about 1.7% of MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Winder Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,892,774,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $168,636,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Linde by 33,201.7% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 411,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,189,000 after purchasing an additional 410,705 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 17.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,592,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $973,865,000 after purchasing an additional 391,153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Linde by 53.1% during the third quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,033,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $384,681,000 after buying an additional 358,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. HSBC lowered their price target on Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $464.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,695.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,809,695.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at $26,058,131.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,248 shares of company stock worth $35,811,988 in the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $4.69 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $431.31. The company had a trading volume of 511,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,568. The business’s 50-day moving average is $455.10 and its 200 day moving average is $423.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $207.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $350.60 and a 12-month high of $477.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

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.