Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,090 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 0.7% of Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $16,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Linde by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,505,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 168,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,337,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,261,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 138,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,986,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 300.3% during the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,948,000 after acquiring an additional 19,618 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $472.71 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $452.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.51. The firm has a market cap of $222.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The company’s revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.75 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde 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.