Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3,538.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,993 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,526 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $8,103,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $460.99 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $467.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.39 per share. 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 1.21%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. This represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

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.