First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 331 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Linde by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,365,647,000 after buying an additional 218,746 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Linde by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,986,000 after acquiring an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,993,820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $874,908,000 after acquiring an additional 160,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,953,147 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $906,730,000 after acquiring an additional 23,155 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $453.69 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $468.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.12. The stock has a market cap of $216.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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 shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

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.