GDS Wealth Management Sells 62 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

GDS Wealth Management trimmed its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Linde by 566.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,833,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $851,314,000 after buying an additional 1,558,538 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Linde in the second quarter worth about $420,720,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 91.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 968,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,648,000 after acquiring an additional 463,096 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $210,480,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,676,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,744,033,000 after acquiring an additional 405,952 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 1.3 %

Linde stock opened at $474.91 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $455.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $448.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $228.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $361.02 and a 52 week high of $479.79.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LIN. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $484.18.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Linde

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.