Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Increased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,812,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 1.5% of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,596,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $2,901,853,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Linde by 56,467.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,041 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Linde by 2,293.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after acquiring an additional 749,763 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $308,251,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,585,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $447.99 on Thursday. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $455.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $451.54.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 research report on Monday, January 13th. Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.00.

Linde Company 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.