InvesTrust Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

InvesTrust bought a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,965 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,074,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 16.9% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $873,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 482 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN traded up $5.06 on Wednesday, hitting $420.01. 2,251,793 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,439,953. The business's fifty day moving average is $442.61 and its 200 day moving average is $453.78. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

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.