Avestar Capital LLC Buys 400 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,018 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $420,720,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Linde by 47,830.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,377,000 after buying an additional 934,123 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $210,480,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Linde by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after acquiring an additional 408,659 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Linde by 131.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,342,000 after purchasing an additional 353,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of LIN opened at $455.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.84. The company has a market cap of $217.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

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.