AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC Sells 1,124 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 20.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,124 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 0.9% of AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. AAFMAA Wealth Management & Trust LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in 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. Markel Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 168,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,337,000 after buying an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,788 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,261,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Linde by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 138,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $57,986,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its position in Linde by 300.3% in the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,948,000 after acquiring an additional 19,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $472.71. 1,352,718 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,965,676. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $452.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.54. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $222.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on LIN. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% 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.