Bank of Montreal Can Decreases Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,109,132 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 144,898 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.23% of Linde worth $464,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in Linde by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Trading Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ LIN traded up $9.95 on Friday, hitting $441.83. 3,342,916 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,938,062. 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 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $456.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $452.01.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

Linde 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.