Linde PLC $LIN Shares Newly Purchased by Kimelman & Baird LLC

Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 36,627 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,385,000. Linde accounts for approximately 1.2% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake in Linde by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 1,450.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $515.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $486.57 and a 200-day moving average of $494.34. The company has a market cap of $236.54 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.67. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company had revenue of $9.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,487,629.58. This represents a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total value of $45,258,227.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,442,546.93. This trade represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho set a $583.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.05.

About Linde

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases.

Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

The company was formed in 2018 through the merger of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, bringing together businesses with long histories in industrial gases and engineering.