Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,794 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 1.6% of Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Linde were worth $24,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in Linde by 108.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after buying an additional 408,659 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 4,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,989,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $467.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.39 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $440.68 and its 200-day moving average is $454.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid 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 1.28%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.