Czech National Bank Acquires 5,314 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,241 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,314 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $43,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 47,830.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,377,000 after purchasing an additional 934,123 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Linde by 108.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after buying an additional 408,659 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 131.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,342,000 after buying an additional 353,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in Linde by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 598,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,523,000 after buying an additional 262,691 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $414.15 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $439.96 and a 200-day moving average of $453.30. The company has a market cap of $197.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.