Syon Capital LLC Trims Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Syon Capital LLC lessened its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,611 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,298 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $2,349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business'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 transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LIN. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $498.00.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded down $2.83 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $445.58. 726,429 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,386,626. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $454.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.24.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

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.