Alerus Financial NA Buys 4,571 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Alerus Financial NA grew its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 355.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,857 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares during the quarter. Alerus Financial NA’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Up 0.7 %

LIN stock opened at $464.73 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $455.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.31. The stock has a market cap of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.