David P. Strauss Sells 2,218 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $430.20 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $460.04 and its 200 day moving average is $455.57. The firm has a market cap of $204.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 67.0% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 226,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,177,000 after buying an additional 91,035 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $8,531,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 9.8% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 6,020 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,871,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 618.8% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 13.5% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,024 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,549,000 after purchasing an additional 2,381 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.