Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Lowered by M. Kraus & Co

M. Kraus & Co decreased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 2.0% of M. Kraus & Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. M. Kraus & Co’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 1,733.3% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 618.8% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $427.29 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $203.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $438.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.08.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

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.