Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Lifted by Heirloom Wealth Management

Heirloom Wealth Management raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 4.2% of Heirloom Wealth Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Heirloom Wealth Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $10,907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TradeLink Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter worth $2,523,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Linde by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,380 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth about $6,682,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded down $0.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $446.30. 1,831,170 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,251,431. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $453.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $418.29. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $350.60 and a 1-year high of $477.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised Linde from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Seaport Res Ptn cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $456.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,058,131.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Linde news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.