SageView Advisory Group LLC Boosts Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,533 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,898,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 2.3 %

LIN stock opened at $441.83 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $456.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.80. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $208.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.00.

About Linde

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.