Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Sells 465 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA trimmed its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 465 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 1.7% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Linde were worth $24,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,300,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Linde by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in Linde by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,000. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Up 0.7 %

LIN traded up $2.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $432.80. 479,758 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,184,393. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $453.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $424.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $350.60 and a 1 year high of $477.71.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders 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 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,695.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Linde news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,948 shares of company stock worth $35,687,605 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.69.

Linde 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.