Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,759 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $5,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,834,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,604 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,598,551,000 after acquiring an additional 30,750 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Linde by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,857,741,000 after purchasing an additional 554,480 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,901,853,000. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,128,233,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.
Read Our Latest Report on LIN
Linde Price Performance
Shares of LIN stock traded down $0.53 on Thursday, reaching $473.24. 525,678 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,959,656. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $452.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $222.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49.
Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Linde Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 43.57%.
About Linde
(
Free Report)
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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