XTX Topco Ltd Sells 3,320 Shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 62.5%, bringing its holdings to 1,993 shares valued at approximately $928,000.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic about Linde, with the consensus rating at "Buy" and an average target price of $518.30.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, which provides investors with a 1.3% yield and signifies a payout ratio of 42.67%.

XTX Topco Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 62.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,993 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,320 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Linde were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Linde by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 999 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Linde by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.3% in the first quarter. Rockingstone Advisors LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,883,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 149 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $519.63.

Linde Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:LIN traded down $2.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $469.36. 681,034 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,106,716. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $458.32. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 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. Company 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.