Graypoint LLC Sells 132 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Graypoint LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 618.8% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $414.15 on Friday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $439.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $197.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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. 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.