Bradyco Inc. Takes $909,000 Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Bradyco Inc. acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased 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 valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

Linde stock opened at $466.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $443.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.24. The firm has a market cap of $220.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.