Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LIN. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Linde by 108.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after buying an additional 408,659 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Linde by 5.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $619,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 21.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 7.4% during the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.40 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $219.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $439.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.