Chicago Capital LLC Sells 3,596 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Chicago Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,969 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,596 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $11,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.1%

LIN stock opened at $466.60 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $219.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.28, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $456.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $449.05.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business'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 value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LIN. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $510.40.

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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