Linde PLC $LIN Position Trimmed by Trek Financial LLC

Key Points

• Trek Financial cut its Linde stake by 89.6% in the third quarter, selling 3,948 shares and retaining 457 shares worth about $217,000. Institutional investors collectively owned 82.8% of the company.
• Linde reported quarterly earnings of $4.59 per share, topping estimates of $4.52, while revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $9.40 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $553.05. Linde also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Trek Financial LLC reduced its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 89.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 457 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,948 shares during the quarter. Trek Financial LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID lifted its holdings in Linde by 96.6% in the 1st 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. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 1,450.0% during the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 target price on Linde and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $575.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Evercore upped their price target on shares of Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.05.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $524.74 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $485.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.52. The firm has a market cap of $240.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.07. Linde had a return on equity of 20.32% and a net margin of 19.34%. The firm had revenue of $9.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.21 EPS. Linde's revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $518.91, for a total value of $4,851,808.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $11,487,629.58. This represents a 29.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Profile

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.