Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 2,987 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,987 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at $1,892,774,000. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $168,636,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 33,201.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 411,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,189,000 after purchasing an additional 410,705 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Linde by 17.8% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,592,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $973,865,000 after purchasing an additional 391,153 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Linde by 53.1% in the third quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,033,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $384,681,000 after purchasing an additional 358,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $460.15.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded up $3.98 during trading on Friday, hitting $423.60. 2,657,419 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,803,659. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $350.60 and a 52 week high of $477.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $204.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $423.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,695.89. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock worth $35,811,988. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.