Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 266,307 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,531 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Linde were worth $126,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its stake in Linde by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 41.4% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Towercrest Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Towercrest Capital Management now owns 918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 70 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, October 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on Linde from $574.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $583.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, CFO Matthew J. White sold 86,833 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total value of $45,258,227.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,733 shares in the company, valued at $26,442,546.93. This represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. The trade was a 29.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $526.55 on Thursday. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $488.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.50. The company has a market cap of $241.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 42.52%.

Linde Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.