Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 467,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,248 shares during the period. Linde makes up 0.7% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.10% of Linde worth $222,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 1.2% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,927 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,072,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA boosted its position in Linde by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 1,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Linde by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Linde by 137.0% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 242,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $115,407,000 after purchasing an additional 139,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Linde by 1.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,942 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,556,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Linde Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Linde stock opened at $457.12 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $467.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.02. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $217.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.