Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,899,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 426,728 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 0.6% of Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 1.03% of Linde worth $2,051,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Capital World Investors grew its position in Linde by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,834,631,000 after buying an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Linde by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,598,551,000 after buying an additional 30,750 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,857,741,000 after acquiring an additional 554,480 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,901,853,000. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,128,233,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.11.

Linde Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $450.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $451.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.75 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is 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.