Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Covenant Partners LLC

Covenant Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 827 shares during the quarter. Covenant Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $628,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in 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 acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $452.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.00. The business's fifty day moving average price is $453.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $448.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. 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 results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The company had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.75 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $498.00.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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