Avalon Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Avalon Trust Co decreased its holdings in Linde PLC by 2.1%, bringing its total shares to 42,185, which represent about 1.6% of its portfolio.
• Linde recently reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, slightly surpassing estimates and showing a revenue increase of 2.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for Linde, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $518.80.

Avalon Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,185 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 908 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 1.6% of Avalon Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Avalon Trust Co's holdings in Linde were worth $19,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 68,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,662,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 80.4% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LIN opened at $459.41 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $467.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $457.76. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $216.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $518.80.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's 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 directly owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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