Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC decreased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 1.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Linde were worth $22,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth $43,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 133.3% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 1,733.3% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN traded down $7.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $412.44. 998,426 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,185,703. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $440.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.