Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Reduced by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 322,451 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 10,751 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 2.2% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Linde worth $150,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,752,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,509 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Linde by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,725 shares of company stock worth $5,385,750 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of LIN stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $464.40. 4,344,668 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,969,338. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-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 $218.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $451.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.85.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released 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. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.75 EPS. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 43.57%.

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.