Ethos Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $410,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 122.6% during the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 69 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 310.0% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Linde by 347.6% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 94 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total transaction of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 51,231 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.84, for a total value of $23,353,139.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 57,634 shares in the company, valued at $26,271,882.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,948 shares of company stock valued at $35,687,605 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LIN stock traded up $2.15 during trading on Thursday, reaching $429.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,740,059 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,527. Linde plc has a one year low of $350.60 and a one year high of $477.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $454.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.22. The company has a market cap of $206.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm had revenue of $8.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.38 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $464.69.

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.