Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,672 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,119,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 864 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $2,752,000. Finally, CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,703 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Linde stock traded down $0.33 on Friday, hitting $463.76. 609,271 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,952,210. The stock has a market cap of $218.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $451.64 and its 200 day moving average is $447.79. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,725 shares of company stock valued at $5,385,750. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.