Legacy Private Trust Co. Trims Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Legacy Private Trust Co. reduced its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,936 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $5,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 133.3% in the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded up $5.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $420.01. 2,130,338 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,407,838. The stock has a market cap of $199.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $442.61 and its 200 day moving average is $453.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade 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 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.