Guidance Capital Inc. Raises Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,686 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Guidance Capital Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 49.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:LIN traded down $1.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $480.86. The company had a trading volume of 241,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,819,280. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $362.33 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $229.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.57 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $484.18.

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.