Mendel Money Management Has $3.68 Million Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Mendel Money Management cut its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 248 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 1.6% of Mendel Money Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Mendel Money Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after buying an additional 154,792 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Linde by 372.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Linde by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,105,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,300,092,000 after purchasing an additional 89,408 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Linde by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,188,000 after buying an additional 46,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Linde by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,680,279 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $703,482,000 after buying an additional 49,374 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $457.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $216.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $454.32 and its 200-day moving average is $454.19.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 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 predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.