Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG decreased its stake in Linde PLC by 3.6%, owning 177,363 shares worth $81,127,000, making it the 12th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions showed that VP Sean Durbin reduced his holdings by 47.11%, selling 7,261 shares, while another VP, David P. Strauss, sold 1,987 shares, representing an 8.07% decrease.
• Brokerages are optimistic about Linde, with Citigroup upgrading their rating to "buy" and increasing the price target from $500 to $535, alongside multiple firms setting target prices above $500.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG lowered its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,363 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,621 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 1.3% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Raiffeisen Bank International AG's holdings in Linde were worth $81,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Scotia Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 2.9% during the first quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 10,112 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,709,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.8% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. now owns 12,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,649,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 51.7% in the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 78,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,760,000 after purchasing an additional 26,918 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,765,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,639 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. The trade was a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $518.30.

Linde Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $2.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $469.52. 339,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,112,820. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $467.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $458.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.93. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month 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 net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

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.