Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Linde PLC by 6.2%, owning 34,236 shares valued at approximately $15.94 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Following recent transactions, Linde's stock has received several upgrades from brokerages, with Citigroup raising its target price from $500 to $535 and Argus providing a "strong-buy" rating.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with a yield of 1.27%, reflecting a higher confidence in its earnings and financial stability.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,236 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,995 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $15,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $518.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. 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 dated 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 owned 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Up 0.3%

Linde stock traded up $1.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $472.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,212,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,547,221. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $222.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business's 50 day moving average price is $466.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $456.27.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.75 earnings per share. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid 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 was Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 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.