Fiduciary Alliance LLC Acquires New Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $646,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 8.6% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. raised its position in Linde by 7.8% in the first quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 23,667 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Linde by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 34,850 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Linde by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 109,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,925,000 after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Linde Trading Down 0.6%

Linde stock opened at $464.57 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $218.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $451.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.86.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% 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.