Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Sells 18,250 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 249,775 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 18,250 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 1.0% of Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $104,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $452.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $455.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.00.

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.