Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 3,421 Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 84.7%, ending the quarter with only 617 shares worth approximately $287,000.
• In the latest round of institutional transactions, several firms increased their positions in Linde, including a notable 80.4% increase by Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC, highlighting ongoing investor interest despite Westwood's sell-off.
• Linde recently reported earnings per share of $4.09, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, reinforcing its financial stability.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 84.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 617 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,421 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,539,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.6% in the first quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 71,990 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $33,521,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at $216,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at $144,511,000. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 37.9% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 17,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,272,000 after purchasing an additional 4,879 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total value of $908,138.48. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 59,557 shares of company stock worth $28,037,479. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. 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. Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $519.63.

Linde Trading Up 0.6%

LIN stock traded up $2.99 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $472.42. 939,239 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,504,921. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $467.81 and a 200-day moving average of $458.87. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 is presently 42.67%.

About Linde

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.