Values First Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 736 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 566.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,833,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $851,314,000 after acquiring an additional 1,558,538 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth about $420,720,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 47,830.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,377,000 after purchasing an additional 934,123 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 91.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 968,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,648,000 after buying an additional 463,096 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,480,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $474.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.55 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $471.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $362.33 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.52 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 Company 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.