Linde PLC $LIN Stock: Aberdeen Group plc Cuts Stake

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group cut its Linde stake by 11.2% in the third quarter, selling 55,446 shares; it retained 441,711 shares valued at about $209.7 million.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.59 versus $4.52 expected and revenue of $9.40 billion, up 9.3% year over year. Analysts’ average rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $553.05.
• Linde declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to $6.40 annually and a 1.2% yield.

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 441,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 55,446 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.10% of Linde worth $209,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total transaction of $45,258,227.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 50,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,442,546.93. This trade represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,350 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $11,487,629.58. This trade represents a 29.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, October 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Linde from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $553.05.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $526.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $241.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95, a PEG ratio of 3.04 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $490.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $496.20. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $4.21 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. 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 presently 42.52%.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases. Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

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