Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 113,525 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Linde were worth $47,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $501.82.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on LIN
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Linde Price Performance
Shares of LIN stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $459.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,049,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm's 50-day moving average is $453.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.18. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $217.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.
Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, research analysts predict 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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.
Linde Profile
(
Free Report)
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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