Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Buys 1,198 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the period. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in Linde were worth $16,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $459.09 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $453.71 and a 200 day moving average of $454.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 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.