Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 2,362 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 1.5% of Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $5,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $472.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,352,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,782. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

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.