CWA Asset Management Group LLC Has $632,000 Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC lowered its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 47,830.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $446,377,000 after acquiring an additional 934,123 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in Linde by 108.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after acquiring an additional 408,659 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 131.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,342,000 after acquiring an additional 353,136 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 598,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $285,523,000 after purchasing an additional 262,691 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Linde Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Linde stock opened at $420.01 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.54. The stock has a market cap of $199.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.