Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Position Lifted by Noesis Capital Mangement Corp

Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 2.4% of Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp’s holdings in Linde were worth $12,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $467.05 on Friday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $222.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $440.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.