Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc decreased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,796 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Linde were worth $12,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 55,114 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $23,075,000 after purchasing an additional 2,456 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Linde by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 5,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 384,520 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $160,987,000 after buying an additional 4,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH lifted its position in shares of Linde by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 44,848 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,777,000 after buying an additional 541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $468.25 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $443.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $455.16. 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 capitalization of $221.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.40, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.