Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC cut its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in Linde by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 498,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $208,766,000 after acquiring an additional 152,944 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC increased its position in Linde by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 9,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,010,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 10,762 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Linde by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 511,253 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $213,374,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $455.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $448.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.78. The firm has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, 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 disclosed 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 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Company 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.