Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Cannon Advisors Inc.

Cannon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 20.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,118 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 778 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 1.1% of Cannon Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Cannon Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $1,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% during 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 period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded down $2.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $467.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,443,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,882,606. The company's 50 day moving average price is $457.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $220.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

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Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $501.82.

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.