Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Night Owl Capital Management LLC

Night Owl Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,685 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 2.6% of Night Owl Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Night Owl Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $19,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,896,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its stake in Linde by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 1,110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Exeter Financial LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 5,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $450.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $448.05. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.11.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.