Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.

Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 34.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Linde by 122.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth about $29,000. FWL Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 57,634 shares in the company, valued at $26,271,882.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $445.95. The company had a trading volume of 287,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,259,905. The stock has a market cap of $214.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $350.60 and a 12 month high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $452.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $417.35.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were issued a $1.39 dividend. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. Wolfe Research began coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on Linde from $503.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $456.79.

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.