Red Spruce Capital LLC Cuts Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Red Spruce Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 1.7% of Red Spruce Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Red Spruce Capital LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $442.46 on Wednesday. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $210.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.14.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Five 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.