Asio Capital LLC Reduces Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Asio Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Asio Capital LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Linde by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its stake in Linde by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 64,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,031,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 40.8% during the 4th quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $439.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $435.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.