Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,942 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,188 shares during the period. Linde makes up 1.2% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $8,355,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the 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 owned 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Trading Down 0.3%

LIN opened at $475.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $460.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $450.71. 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 PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The firm's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.90.

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.

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