Brophy Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.15 Million in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,410 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Linde by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,419 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,939,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,616,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $780,000. Finally, Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 17,268 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,577,000 after buying an additional 3,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $444.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,107,150 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,859,575. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $211.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $464.12 and its 200 day moving average is $455.40.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LIN. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.75.

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.