Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Smith Salley Wealth Management

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Linde accounts for 1.2% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $19,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after buying an additional 154,792 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Linde by 372.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,438,154,000 after acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Linde by 2.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,130,986,000 after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.75.

Linde Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $436.00 on Friday. The stock 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $436.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $452.82. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.