Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 467 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,838,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.5 %

LIN stock opened at $467.05 on Friday. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $222.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $440.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.