Motco Purchases 69 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Motco grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,525 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $460.28 on Friday. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $439.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.79. The stock has a market cap of $219.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share 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%. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is owned by 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.