Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. Sells 166 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,367 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $467.05 on Friday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $440.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.96.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup reduced 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, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

About Linde

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.