Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Bought by City Holding Co.

City Holding Co. lifted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,227 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. City Holding Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $436.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $436.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.97. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, 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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.75.

About Linde

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.