Optas LLC Boosts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Optas LLC raised its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $457.31 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $472.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.86. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $385.12 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced 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 business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.52 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given 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 1.22%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LIN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. 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. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.