HighTower Advisors LLC Has $137.09 Million Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,436 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,725 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Linde worth $137,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $454.07 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $214.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $446.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

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Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.

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