Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 16.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,383 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Up 0.1 %

Linde stock opened at $457.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $467.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.04. The company has a market capitalization of $217.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

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.