Trust Investment Advisors Trims Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Trust Investment Advisors decreased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in Linde were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 56,467.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,692,000 after buying an additional 1,096,041 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Linde by 2,293.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,593,000 after acquiring an additional 749,763 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $308,251,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 467.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 827,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,780,000 after acquiring an additional 682,176 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of LIN opened at $457.45 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $454.32 and its 200 day moving average is $454.19. 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 plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $216.33 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.