Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Purchases 397 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 2.8% of Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $23,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $892,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Linde by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,286 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,589,000 after acquiring an additional 9,526 shares in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its stake in Linde by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 10,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,282,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $639,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

LIN stock opened at $460.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $451.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.56. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $216.69 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.57%.

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.