Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Raised by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 38.6% during 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $468.77 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $221.69 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $444.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $455.24.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase 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%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.