Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lowered its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 741 shares during the quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 47,830.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,377,000 after acquiring an additional 934,123 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Linde by 2,293.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after acquiring an additional 749,763 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Linde by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after acquiring an additional 408,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Linde by 131.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,342,000 after acquiring an additional 353,136 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $439.25 on Friday. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $209.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $435.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.05.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.