Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 671 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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 transaction 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 approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president now directly 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. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $458.70 on Thursday. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $215.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $456.88 and a 200-day moving average of $449.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict 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 paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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