Fulton Bank N.A. Has $689,000 Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 231.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in Linde by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $420.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $440.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.31. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $199.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Linde 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.