Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Lowered by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $15,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 372.8% during 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 worth $1,567,958,000 after buying an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after purchasing an additional 408,659 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 131.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,342,000 after purchasing an additional 353,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 598,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,523,000 after purchasing an additional 262,691 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $461.40 on Thursday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $439.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.