Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) Shares Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) by 2.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,354,416 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 32,706 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 1.7% of William Blair Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $481,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Linde in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 51.9% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Down 0.2 %

Linde stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $385.95. The stock had a trading volume of 284,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,876,694. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $378.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.55. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $262.47 and a 1-year high of $393.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Linde (NYSE:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.10. Linde had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 17.20%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.10 EPS. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $1.275 per share. This represents a $5.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 1st. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total transaction of $15,545,355.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,747,059.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.46, for a total transaction of $734,222.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,043,325.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total value of $15,545,355.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 369,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $144,747,059.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on Linde in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $400.00 to $418.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Linde from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Linde from $375.00 to $415.00 in a report on Friday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $404.41.

Linde Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia 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.