Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Austin Wealth Management LLC

Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Linde stock opened at $454.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $214.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.16.

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, 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, equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is an increase 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 presently 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.