Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Moreno Evelyn V

Moreno Evelyn V trimmed its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 35.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,868 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 1.4% of Moreno Evelyn V’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Moreno Evelyn V’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,916,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,066,825,000. Winder Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,892,774,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 104.2% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,672,000 after purchasing an additional 468,415 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $168,636,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 33,201.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 411,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,189,000 after purchasing an additional 410,705 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $1.89 on Thursday, hitting $432.90. The company had a trading volume of 546,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,510. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $350.60 and a 1-year high of $477.71. The stock has a market cap of $208.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $448.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $8.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.38 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.42 EPS. Analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.5 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. UBS Group cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $468.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total transaction of $2,466,417.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,695.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 5,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $467.39, for a total value of $2,466,417.03. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,809,695.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,948 shares of company stock valued at $35,687,605 in the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.