Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $448,000 Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.6 %

LIN stock opened at $468.77 on Friday. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $221.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $444.80 and its 200-day moving average is $455.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.