Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Has $2.14 Million Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $1,441,000. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 26,885 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 100,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,908,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Linde by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 10,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,522,000 after purchasing an additional 3,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This 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 corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Up 0.6 %

Linde stock opened at $468.77 on Friday. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $444.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.29. The company has a market capitalization of $221.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.