one8zero8 LLC Buys New Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Choate Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 29,510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,358,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 6,559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,746,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC lifted its position in Linde by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Shields & Co. LLC now owns 3,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,087,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $597,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $455.50 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

About Linde

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.