71,982 Shares in Linde PLC $LIN Purchased by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Trillium Asset Management opened a substantial Linde position, buying 71,982 shares worth about $34.2 million in the third quarter. The shares represent roughly 1.1% of its portfolio and are its 19th-largest holding.
• Linde topped quarterly earnings expectations, reporting adjusted earnings of $4.59 per share and revenue of $9.40 billion; revenue grew 9.3% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $553.05. Linde also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to a 1.2% yield.

Trillium Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 71,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $34,168,000. Linde comprises about 1.1% of Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. grew its position in Linde by 12.9% in the second quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in Linde by 74.2% in the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Linde by 41.4% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Towercrest Capital Management raised its position in Linde by 2.8% in the third quarter. Towercrest Capital Management now owns 918 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 70 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ LIN traded up $3.57 on Friday, reaching $526.06. The stock had a trading volume of 1,250,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,660. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $490.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $496.20. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $241.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.67.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 19.34%. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.16 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.21 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Linde from $535.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore raised their price objective on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Mizuho set a $583.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, October 29th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Linde from $560.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.05.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total value of $45,258,227.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 50,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,442,546.93. The trade was a 63.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,487,629.58. This represents a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Linde Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

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