Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. Sells 382 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $461.35 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $442.19 and its 200 day moving average is $455.07. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $218.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG 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 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%. Research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LIN. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde 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.