Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Edgestream Partners L.P.

Edgestream Partners L.P. lessened its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 36.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 9,326 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Linde were worth $7,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.6%

NASDAQ LIN traded down $7.40 on Tuesday, reaching $461.39. The company had a trading volume of 310,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,966,129. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.96. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $463.77 and a 200-day moving average of $453.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.95% and a net margin of 20.02%. Linde's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LIN. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $518.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, 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 value of $3,314,065.62. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.