Wallington Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,590 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 4.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Wallington Asset Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $29,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in 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 Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % 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, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.75.

Linde Trading Up 0.8 %

LIN stock traded up $3.51 on Friday, reaching $436.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,395,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,630. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $436.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $452.97. The firm has a market cap of $207.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.