Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Has $221,000 Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $5.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $414.95. 1,601,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,291,532. The firm has a market cap of $197.58 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $440.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.31.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

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.