Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 736,260 Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 736,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $308,251,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Linde by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 25,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 138,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,986,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,906 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,876,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $466.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $443.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $220.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a PEG 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LIN. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.