Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the 4th 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. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $466.16 on Friday. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $443.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $455.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $220.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

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.