Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 868,311 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 7,056 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Linde were worth $363,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,901,853,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Linde by 372.8% in the third 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 valued at $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 56,467.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $459,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,041 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Linde by 2,293.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $308,251,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value 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. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $464.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $455.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.31. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $219.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.