Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Makes New $423,000 Investment in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC has acquired a new stake in Linde PLC, purchasing 909 shares valued at approximately $423,000 in the first quarter.
• Several analysts have given Linde positive ratings, with a consensus price target of $518.80 and upgrades to a "strong-buy" by various firms.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, reflecting an annualized payout of $6.00 and a dividend yield of 1.3%.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 909 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 68,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 80.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock traded up $1.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $468.91. 603,280 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,114,646. The company has a market capitalization of $220.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm's 50-day moving average is $467.32 and its 200 day moving average is $458.15. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on LIN. UBS Group increased their price target on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $518.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 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 owned by corporate 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.