Annex Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 11.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,941 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,655 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 1.0% of Annex Advisory Services LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $35,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.7%

LIN stock traded down $3.51 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $470.26. The company had a trading volume of 1,678,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,963,499. The company has a market capitalization of $221.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $452.28 and a 200 day moving average of $448.21. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. Linde's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.11.

About Linde

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.