Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Purchases 3,196 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,196 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $15,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $461.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $442.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.07.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup dropped 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.