Mission Wealth Management LP Increases Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,023,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Down 0.2 %

LIN opened at $461.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $442.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.07. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last three months. 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.