Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Convergence Financial LLC

Convergence Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,593 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Convergence Financial LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Linde by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 5,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,186,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in Linde by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 33,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,966,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired 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. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.3 %

LIN opened at $461.40 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $439.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.75. 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 plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.