FineMark National Bank & Trust Decreases Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

FineMark National Bank & Trust reduced its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $459.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $453.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 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, beating 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.