Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,105,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 89,408 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,300,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 38.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $462.25 on Tuesday. 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 plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $441.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.