Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH Reduces Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 1.2% of Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,600,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,480,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,045,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd raised its stake in Linde by 156.3% in the fourth quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 10,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,146,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,679,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $443.18. 1,583,773 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,507,545. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $350.60 and a 1 year high of $477.71. The firm has a market cap of $213.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $456.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.49 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.04 billion. Linde had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 17.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho raised Linde from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $510.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $500.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $456.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total transaction of $124,383.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total transaction of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock worth $35,811,988 in the last ninety days. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.