Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted 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 buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Trading Down 6.3 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $437.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $458.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde 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.