Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)

Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) by 8.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 355 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 51.9% during the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth $37,000. 80.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $386.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $380.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $366.30. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $262.47 and a 12-month high of $393.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $188.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.75, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.85.

Linde (NYSE:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.10. Linde had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 17.20%. The firm had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.10 EPS. Linde’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.275 per share. This represents a $5.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 1st. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total transaction of $15,545,355.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 369,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,747,059.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Linde news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total transaction of $15,545,355.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 369,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,747,059.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.46, for a total value of $734,222.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,149 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,043,325.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Linde from $375.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Linde from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Argus boosted their price objective on Linde from $440.00 to $463.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Linde from $382.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.41.

Linde Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia 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.