Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Colonial Trust Co SC

Colonial Trust Co SC reduced its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 84.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 523 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,943 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in Linde were worth $219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. lifted its position in Linde by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $88,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth $625,000. Finally, Signet Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $749,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded up $1.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $454.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,944,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,935,394. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $452.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.17. 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 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year 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. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.