Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Baldwin Investment Management LLC

Baldwin Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,824 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up approximately 0.6% of Baldwin Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Baldwin Investment Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $4,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,901,853,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Linde by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,834,631,000 after buying an additional 2,957,604 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 56,467.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,041 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% during 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. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $308,251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company's 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 in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.61 on Wednesday, hitting $449.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,573,880 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,149. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $452.85 and a 200-day moving average of $448.96. The company has a market capitalization of $211.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Linde 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.