Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lessened its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $22,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $457.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $216.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.63. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LIN. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.