Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2,293.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 782,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 749,763 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 0.5% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of Linde worth $327,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Linde by 618.8% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
NASDAQ LIN opened at $427.29 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $438.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 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.
Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $495.75.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Linde
In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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.
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