Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Wallington Asset Management LLC

Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 785 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 4.3% of Wallington Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Wallington Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $29,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $436.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $437.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $452.77. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $207.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised 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 note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.75.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.