Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $26,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Linde by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 310.0% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Linde by 347.6% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Down 0.5 %

Linde stock opened at $427.71 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $454.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $424.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.91. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $350.60 and a fifty-two week high of $477.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.42 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total transaction of $23,353,139.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 57,634 shares in the company, valued at $26,271,882.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,948 shares of company stock valued at $35,687,605 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on LIN shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.69.

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.