Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Waverton Investment Management Ltd

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 1.5% of Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $93,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $456.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.40. The company has a market capitalization of $217.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $395.00 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.