Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by AMF Tjanstepension AB

AMF Tjanstepension AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 743,448 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,029 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 2.2% of AMF Tjanstepension AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.16% of Linde worth $311,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $468.77 on Friday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $221.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $444.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock valued at $6,567,231 over the last three months. 0.60% 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.