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Linde (LIN) Gains as CEO Purchases 3,750 Ordinary Shares

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Linde plc’s (LIN - Free Report) stock price rose more than 7% on disclosure by CEO Sanjiv Lamba in Form 4 that he has purchased 3,750 ordinary shares of the industrial gas producer. The worth of the shares brought is roughly $1 million.

In a transaction dated Mar 8, the shares of Linde were purchased at a price range of $268.54 to $269.27.

Late last month, Linde pleased its shareholders with an announcement of a dividend hike and a new share buyback program. As reflected in its dividend history, the new quarterly dividend of $1.17 per share reflects an increment of 10% over the prior quarter. The increased dividend will be paid on Mar 25, to shareholders of record as on Mar 11.

The new stock repurchase program that Linde’s board of directors recently approved is up to $10 billion of the company’s ordinary shares. Thus, the $5-billion share repurchase program, which was authorized on Jan 25, 2021 and completed recently, has been replaced by the new $10-billion buyback program.

The announcements for shareholder rewards are reflective of strong company operations. Linde has been generating strong cashflows over the years. LIN is also focusing on maintaining a strong balance sheet and is preferring to invest mostly in growth opportunities.

Currently, Linde carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Other prospective players in the same space include Univar Solutions , Cabot Corporation (CBT - Free Report) and Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) . While Univar and Cabot sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Huntsman carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Univar is a well-known distributor of commodity and specialty chemical and ingredient with a global presence. Univar continues to be committed to a disciplined capital allocation policy that will ultimately help drive growth.

For 2022, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Univar’s earnings is pegged at $2.63 per share, suggesting year-over-year growth of 18.5%.

Cabot is well-known for providing activated carbon, inkjet colorants, elastomer composites, carbon black, specialty carbons, masterbatches and conductive compounds, fumed silica and aerogel. Cabot is a leading global specialty chemicals and performance materials company.

For fiscal 2022, Cabot is likely to see earnings growth of 15.5%.

Huntsman is a leading player in marketing and manufacturing differentiated and specialty chemicals. For 2022, Huntsman has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions in the past 30 days.

For 2022, Huntsman is likely to see earnings growth of 12.7%.


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