Triangle Securities Wealth Management Lowers Position in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)

Triangle Securities Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN – Get Rating) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $168,000. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Linde by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 78.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE LIN traded down $7.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $330.49. 5,702,339 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,840,606. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $334.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $262.47 and a 52 week high of $362.74. The stock has a market cap of $162.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.84.

Linde (NYSE:LIN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.25. Linde had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $7.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 13.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.275 per share. This represents a $5.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.17. Linde’s payout ratio is 61.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Linde from $355.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Linde from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Linde from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Linde from $340.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Linde from $370.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $370.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 4,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.17, for a total value of $1,462,290.20. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,953.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Profile

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Linde Plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It designs and builds equipment that produces industrial gases and offers customers a wide range of gas production and processing services such as olefin plants, natural gas plants, air separation plants, hydrogen and synthesis gas plants and other types of plants.