Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 29,690 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 247,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 29,690 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Linde were worth $103,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $210,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,141,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,901,853,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,585,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $464.73 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.31. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.