Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $72,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 1,733.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Linde by 618.8% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $432.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $205.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.84, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $437.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $452.91. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

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.