Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Wintrust Investments LLC

Wintrust Investments LLC lifted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Wintrust Investments LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during 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. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.6 %

LIN opened at $451.17 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $213.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $447.04 and a 200-day moving average of $455.13. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.