Mendota Financial Group LLC Trims Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Mendota Financial Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 51 shares during the period. Mendota Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 1,733.3% in 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. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 618.8% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $421.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $200.67 billion, a PE ratio of 32.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $439.22 and a 200-day moving average of $453.16. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday. Mizuho lifted 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. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.