Smith Salley Wealth Management Grows Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 46,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises about 1.2% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $19,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.8 %

LIN stock opened at $436.00 on Friday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $207.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $436.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.82.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.