FourThought Financial Partners LLC Makes New $265,000 Investment in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $265,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.40 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $439.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share 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, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.85%.

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.