ING Groep NV Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 598,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 262,691 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 1.7% of ING Groep NV’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.13% of Linde worth $285,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Linde during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ LIN traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $456.12. 327,035 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,827,914. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $470.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $452.61.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.