EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,563,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,513,551,000 after acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Linde by 7.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,365,647,000 after purchasing an additional 218,746 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in Linde by 2.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,986,000 after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 8.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,993,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $874,908,000 after purchasing an additional 160,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Linde by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,953,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $906,730,000 after purchasing an additional 23,155 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $450.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $469.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $214.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.