Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $16,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Linde by 108.7% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after acquiring an additional 408,659 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $252,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 21.2% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.4% in the third quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC grew its position in Linde by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $460.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $219.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $439.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.79. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LIN. Mizuho raised their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Linde

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.