Norinchukin Bank The Buys 3,016 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Norinchukin Bank The grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,957 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Linde were worth $31,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of LIN opened at $452.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $455.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $498.00.

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.