Challenger Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 765 Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Challenger Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 765 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,725 shares of company stock worth $5,385,750. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $464.74. 658,045 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,952,461. 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 company has a market cap of $218.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $451.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $447.79.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

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.