Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. Makes New $4.40 Million Investment in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd. purchased a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 10,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,396,000. Linde accounts for approximately 2.4% of Pragma Gestao DE Patrimonio Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $252,000. Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in Linde by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $507,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 2,191.7% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $454.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.24. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $218.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. 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.