Martin Currie Ltd. Has $125.34 Million Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Martin Currie Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 23,455 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 4.6% of Martin Currie Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Martin Currie Ltd.’s holdings in Linde were worth $125,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $459.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $456.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $454.22. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

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.