Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 67.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,863 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 81,489 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Linde were worth $18,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vident Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 40.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in Linde by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 28.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $22,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1.2% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 185,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $81,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $450.14 on Thursday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $214.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $469.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.