Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Position Decreased by AMF Tjanstepension AB

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 4.9%, selling 36,569 shares, which brings their total holdings to 706,879 shares worth approximately $329 million.
• Insider transactions revealed that VP Sean Durbin sold over 7,200 shares at an average price of $456.42, representing a significant decrease in his ownership position.
• Linde recently reported strong quarterly results with a 4.09 EPS, beating estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.3%.

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 706,879 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 36,569 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 2.4% of AMF Tjanstepension AB's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned 0.15% of Linde worth $329,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $519.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the sale, the vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the transaction, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,557 shares of company stock worth $28,037,479. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock traded up $2.99 on Friday, hitting $472.42. The company had a trading volume of 939,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,504,921. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $467.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $458.87. The stock has a market cap of $221.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

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.