Menard Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 16.9% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $2,752,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $927,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in Linde by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $458.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $451.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $447.50. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.57%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.11.

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.