Trillium Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Key Points

• Trillium Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 3.6%, now holding 60,915 shares valued at approximately $28.36 million.
• Insider transactions have been notable, with VP Sean Durbin selling over 7,261 shares for around $3.31 million, reflecting a 47.11% decrease in his holdings.
• Linde has recently announced a dividend of $1.50 per share to be paid on September 18th, which equates to a 1.3% yield based on its current share price.

Trillium Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 60,915 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,245 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $28,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in Linde by 106.1% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 457,171 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $212,877,000 after buying an additional 235,398 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 65.9% during the first quarter. Eagle Global Advisors LLC now owns 28,472 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,258,000 after buying an additional 11,312 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 49.6% during the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,027 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in Linde by 16.9% in the first quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 580 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp raised its position in Linde by 2.5% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 2,292 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.45 on Friday, reaching $480.08. 1,688,603 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,077,280. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $468.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.69. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at $227,479,445.34. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.63.

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.