AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 38,249 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 21.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,852 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 38,249 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $58,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $4.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $451.86. The stock had a trading volume of 393,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,928,124. The company has a market cap of $212.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $452.85 and its 200-day moving average is $448.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

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.