Diversify Wealth Management LLC Buys 416 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,248 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Linde by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 120,352 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,812,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its stake in shares of Linde by 7.6% in the second quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,180 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 12.9% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 99,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,492,000 after purchasing an additional 11,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Linde during the second quarter valued at $101,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $436.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $436.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.12. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target 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. Mizuho upped their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.75.

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.