Providence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 129 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 1.4% of Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Providence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $507,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Linde by 2,191.7% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 16.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,604 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Linde by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,556,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $464.73 on Friday. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $455.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.31. The firm has a market cap of $219.78 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.