Temasek Holdings Private Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd lessened its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,860 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 58,521 shares during the quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd's holdings in Linde were worth $49,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 85.2% in the 4th quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $88,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $625,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Linde by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the period. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 168,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,337,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $0.48 on Tuesday, hitting $459.85. 1,329,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,943,056. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $451.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.64.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.75 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,246 shares of company stock worth $5,188,827. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

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.