Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Security National Bank

Security National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 128.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the quarter. Security National Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the 4th 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 period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $460.20 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $458.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $449.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.94. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on LIN. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.