Motive Wealth Advisors Raises Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Motive Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 557 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Motive Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Linde were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $440.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $209.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $396.07 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $435.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.11.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.