Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Reaves W H & Co. Inc.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 355 shares during the quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 37,208 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,196 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Linde by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 2,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Silver Coast Investments LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 1,098 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,453,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $462.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $441.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $455.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the 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 owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.