California Public Employees Retirement System Acquires 38,412 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 973,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 38,412 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Linde were worth $407,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LIN opened at $459.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $456.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $217.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

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.