Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Position Trimmed by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 41.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,213 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 873 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky's holdings in Linde were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $472.71 on Friday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $222.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde 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.

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