Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 895 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its position in Linde by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,919,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,182,870,000 after purchasing an additional 354,506 shares during the period. Winder Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,892,774,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Linde by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,081,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,891,976,000 after purchasing an additional 123,174 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Linde by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,960,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,102,475,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Linde by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,766,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,030,146,000 after purchasing an additional 9,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded down $3.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $441.68. 643,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,178,832. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $456.33 and its 200-day moving average is $421.82. The stock has a market cap of $212.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $350.60 and a 1-year high of $477.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,271,882.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.00.

Linde Company 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.