RDA Financial Network Grows Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

RDA Financial Network increased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 776 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. RDA Financial Network’s holdings in Linde were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $436.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $437.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $452.77. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LIN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

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.