Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $812,000 in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,771 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $812,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. boosted its stake in Linde by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Linde by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in Linde by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $88,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $625,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded up $4.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $452.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,726,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,223. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $451.37.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

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.