Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 1,968 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,968 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $23,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 44.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 310.0% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 347.6% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $468.83.

Linde Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $439.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.95. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $358.37 and a 52-week high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $435.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $433.60.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.42 EPS. Linde’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.