Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) Holdings Decreased by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its holdings in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Linde were worth $30,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 6,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 51.9% in the first quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 82 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Manitou Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, FWL Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 80.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

NYSE:LIN opened at $408.27 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $302.17 and a 1 year high of $411.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $382.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $377.11.

Linde (NYSE:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $3.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 18.44%. The company had revenue of $8.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 14.11 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.275 per share. This represents a $5.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 1st. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. HSBC lifted their target price on Linde from $416.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $448.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $418.00 to $421.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.50.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,245 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.63, for a total value of $482,599.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,158,796.87. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Linde news, VP Sean Durbin sold 1,245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.63, for a total value of $482,599.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,149 shares in the company, valued at $3,158,796.87. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 12,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.53, for a total transaction of $4,825,440.52. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 27,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,498,541.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia 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.