CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Acquires 28 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA’s holdings in Linde were worth $528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,616 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $472.17 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $222.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $452.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.63.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.11.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.