Insider Selling: Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) CFO Sells 86,833 Shares of Company Stock

Key Points

• Linde CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares for about $45.3 million, reducing his holdings by 63.12%; the sale covered tax withholding on vested equity awards.
• Linde beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $4.59 versus $4.52 expected and revenue of $9.40 billion, up 9.3% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $553.05; Linde also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) CFO Matthew White sold 86,833 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $521.21, for a total transaction of $45,258,227.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 50,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,442,546.93. This trade represents a 63.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Linde Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of LIN stock traded down $3.51 on Friday, reaching $517.72. 1,135,783 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,313,539. The business's 50 day moving average price is $485.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.93. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20. The company has a market capitalization of $237.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The basic materials company reported $4.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.52 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $9.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.16 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.34% and a return on equity of 20.32%. Linde's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LIN. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID increased its position in Linde by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,450.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Linde from $574.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Linde from $549.00 to $568.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Evercore boosted their target price on Linde from $515.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $553.05.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and supplies atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium and specialty gases. The company also designs and builds equipment and facilities used to produce and process gases.

Linde serves customers across industries including healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics and energy. Its operations span the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific.

The company was formed in 2018 through the merger of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, bringing together businesses with long histories in industrial gases and engineering.

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