Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Park Avenue Securities LLC

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,714 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,939 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 618.8% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $427.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $203.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $438.67 and its 200-day moving average is $453.08.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

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.