Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,449 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32,977 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $29,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Linde by 212.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp lifted its stake in Linde by 12.7% in the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 68.5% during the third quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 2,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Associated Banc Corp bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $457.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $216.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $454.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.19.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde 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.