Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Position Lifted by Golden State Wealth Management LLC

Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 197.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,018 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 121.2% during the first quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 2,544 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,862 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,195,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 2,377 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 648 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter worth $218,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $460.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $216.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company's 50 day moving average price is $458.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.35. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.75 EPS. Linde's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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