Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Lifted by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 196,605 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 7,963 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $82,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $507,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 2,244.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 26,751 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,759,000 after acquiring an additional 25,610 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Linde by 11.1% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 91,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $43,827,000 after acquiring an additional 9,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 100.0% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $467.09 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $457.18 and its 200-day moving average is $454.12. The company has a market cap of $220.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.