Independent Advisor Alliance Raises Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.4 %

LIN opened at $462.06 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $218.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $445.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $455.24.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. 0.60% of the stock is 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.