Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. Sells 1,017 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. lessened its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Linde by 38.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $468.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $221.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $443.04 and a 200-day moving average of $455.16. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

About Linde

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.