Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,901,853,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 56,467.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096,041 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Linde by 2,293.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $308,251,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $306,585,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 3.2 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $431.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $456.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $452.25. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $204.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.