Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,882 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.63% of Linde worth $1,438,154,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $451.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $214.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The business has a fifty day moving average of $469.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

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.