Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Takes $1.66 Million Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 3,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $453.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $452.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $448.76. The company has a market capitalization of $213.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.