Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 1.4% during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of approximately 433,567 shares, worth $201,886,000.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an ex-dividend date on September 4th, representing a 1.3% dividend yield.
• Analyst ratings for Linde show strong support, with seven buy ratings and a consensus price target of $519.63, reflecting optimism in the stock's performance.

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 433,567 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,969 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned approximately 0.09% of Linde worth $201,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.3%

LIN opened at $471.48 on Thursday. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $467.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $458.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $221.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.85 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.63.

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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