Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,428 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,342 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $14,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its stake in Linde by 122.6% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Halpern Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 309.5% in the 3rd quarter. Halpern Financial Inc. now owns 86 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded down $5.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $447.41. 1,976,682 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,304,912. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $350.60 and a twelve month high of $477.71. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $449.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $415.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $215.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Linde from $503.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Linde from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $500.00 in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $456.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,271,882.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,634 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,271,882.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde 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.

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