Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its Linde stake by 10.8% in the first quarter, selling 413,188 shares. It still held 3.40 million shares valued at approximately $1.68 billion, while institutional investors collectively owned 82.8% of Linde.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $548.67, compared with Linde’s reported share price of $508.64.
• Linde exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.33 in adjusted EPS and $8.78 billion in revenue, up 8.2% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, representing a 1.3% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,398,794 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 413,188 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.74% of Linde worth $1,684,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in shares of Linde by 96.6% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Linde by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $548.67.

Linde Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $508.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $516.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.36. The stock has a market cap of $235.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Linde Profile

Linde NASDAQ: LIN is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde's business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.

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