Greystone Financial Group LLC Has $10.58 Million Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 1.9% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $10,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $472.71 on Monday. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $452.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.51. The stock has a market cap of $222.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.75 EPS. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.57%.

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.