Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 731 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.00.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $447.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $455.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.54.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

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.