Summitry LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Summitry LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the quarter. Summitry LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Down 0.4 %

LIN opened at $457.45 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $454.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.19. The company has a market capitalization of $216.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % 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 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.