MCF Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 1,733.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $442.60 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $210.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $436.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.18. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.26%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.