1,045 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN Purchased by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,045 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LIN. Bfsg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 9,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,423,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,560,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 91.2% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,823 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 3,732 shares during the last quarter. Basso Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $366,000. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. The trade was a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $524.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $240.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $548.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $485.35 and its 200-day moving average is $493.52.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 19.34%. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Berenberg Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.05.

Linde Profile

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde’s products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.