Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 17,796 Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 17,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,451,000. Linde comprises about 3.1% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in 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. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Citigroup cut their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $459.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $217.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $456.09 and a 200 day moving average of $454.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

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.