M&G Plc Increases Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

M&G Plc increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,712 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Linde were worth $90,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Linde stock opened at $462.63 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $220.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a one year low of $385.12 and a one year high of $487.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $472.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde 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.