Linde PLC $LIN Stock Acquired by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in Linde by 96.6% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 1,450.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $521.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $487.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.12. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.21 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Linde from $577.00 to $591.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. DZ Bank reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 86,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total value of $45,258,227.93. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,442,546.93. This trade represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. This trade represents a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.