Souders Financial Advisors Sells 2,653 Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Souders Financial Advisors decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 35.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,763 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,653 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors' holdings in Linde were worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 458,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,819. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $464.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $222.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given 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 1.27%. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company'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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at $10,346,928.56. This 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 owned by company insiders.

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.