Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Mendel Money Management

Mendel Money Management increased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up about 2.3% of Mendel Money Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Mendel Money Management's holdings in Linde were worth $4,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $472.89. 1,212,138 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,547,221. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $466.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $456.27. 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 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. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.