Sciencast Management LP Cuts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sciencast Management LP cut its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $458.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $452.96 and a 200-day moving average of $454.49. The company has a market cap of $216.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.