Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Bridgewater Associates LP lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 52.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,714 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Linde were worth $737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 16.9% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Prentice Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1.3% during the third quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 5.7% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 445 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Linde stock traded down $1.57 on Tuesday, reaching $458.12. 1,675,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,637. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $467.20 and a 200 day moving average of $454.55. The company has a market capitalization of $218.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.