HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Increases Holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $460.20 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $216.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.97. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $458.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.35.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.40.

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.