Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 50,419 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,107,861 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 50,419 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.23% of Linde worth $463,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction 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 approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $467.51. 1,501,589 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,879,901. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $457.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde's payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

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.