Somerset Trust Co Raises Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Somerset Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 1.8% of Somerset Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Linde by 1.7% during the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Linde by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho raised their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

Linde Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $436.00 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $437.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $452.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $207.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.