Advisor OS LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Advisor OS LLC cut its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 843 shares during the quarter. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wrapmanager Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its position in shares of Linde by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company increased its stake in shares of Linde by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $841,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $461.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $439.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.75. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $219.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Sell-side 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 40.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last quarter. 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.