Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Connable Office Inc.

Key Points

• Connable Office Inc. reduced its holdings in Linde PLC by 5.6% during the first quarter, owning 9,683 shares valued at approximately $4.5 million, making it the firm's 28th largest position.
• Linde reported earnings per share of $4.09 for the recent quarter, beating expectations, with a revenue increase to $8.50 billion, up 2.3% year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, reflecting a 1.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 42.67%.

Connable Office Inc. cut its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,683 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 577 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 0.5% of Connable Office Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Connable Office Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $4,509,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Linde by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 68,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 80.4% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Linde by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $459.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $216.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $467.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $457.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.67%.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $518.80.

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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