Washington Trust Bank Has $7.51 Million Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 578 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth $42,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Linde by 62.9% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $465.45. 81,353 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,828,854. The company’s 50-day moving average is $472.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.12. Linde plc has a one year low of $389.14 and a one year high of $487.49. 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 company has a market capitalization of $221.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Company 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.