Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Wesbanco Bank Inc.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,526 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $10,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 1,733.3% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $442.60 on Thursday. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $436.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.18. 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 capitalization of $210.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.