Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Lessened by DSM Capital Partners LLC

DSM Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 286,267 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,260 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 1.8% of DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. DSM Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $117,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Linde by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,919,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,182,870,000 after purchasing an additional 354,506 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,066,825,000. Winder Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,892,774,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Linde by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,081,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,891,976,000 after acquiring an additional 123,174 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.6% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,960,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,102,475,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Linde stock traded up $3.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $435.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,157,621 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,312. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $350.60 and a 1-year high of $477.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $446.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $428.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.42 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. Citigroup cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $500.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $468.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total transaction of $6,030,344.76. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total value of $3,837,704.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,948 shares of company stock worth $35,687,605. 0.70% of the stock is currently 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.