Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 5,277 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 57,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,277 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $23,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.11.

Linde Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $450.67 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $451.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.05. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49. 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 company has a market cap of $212.14 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.