Bangor Savings Bank Boosts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 330.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 49.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of Linde stock opened at $469.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $361.02 and a 52-week high of $483.36. The company has a market capitalization of $225.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $464.43 and a 200 day moving average of $449.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

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.