Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 35.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Linde by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $457.75 on Friday. Linde plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $452.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $454.63.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.