Rathbones Group PLC Sells 2,565 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 536,875 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,565 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 1.1% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Rathbones Group PLC owned 0.11% of Linde worth $224,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Linde Stock Down 6.3 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $437.96 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $458.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.85. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.25 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $207.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.