Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has decreased its holdings in Linde PLC by 15.5%, trimming its position to 38,126 shares, valued at approximately $17.75 million.
• In the fourth quarter, several institutional investors increased their stakes in Linde, including Capital World Investors, which boosted its holdings by 34.4%, now owning over 11.5 million shares valued at $4.83 billion.
• Linde's recent earnings report revealed an EPS of $4.09, surpassing analyst estimates, with a revenue of $8.50 billion, marking a 2.3% increase from the previous year.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,126 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,003 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $17,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Linde in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of LIN stock traded down $2.04 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $470.38. 1,068,081 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,485,561. The business's fifty day moving average is $467.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.92. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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 report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $519.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of Linde 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,639 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,557 shares of company stock worth $28,037,479 over the last 90 days. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.