Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Holdings Lessened by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Linde by 85.2% in the fourth quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Channel Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Linde by 6.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 79,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,898,000 after buying an additional 5,021 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Linde by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,188,000 after buying an additional 46,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $625,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $462.25 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $441.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $218.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

About Linde

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.