Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 3,838 Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,427 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,838 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $28,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $2,901,853,000. Freemont Capital Pte Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $2,128,233,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 58,312.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,415,935 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,590,596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,410,087 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,834,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $468,360,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of LIN stock traded down $2.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $455.86. 4,363,832 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,968,484. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $457.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $449.10. The company has a market capitalization of $214.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.40.

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.