Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 4,835 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 333,202 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,835 shares during the period. Linde makes up 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Linde worth $139,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after acquiring an additional 154,792 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Linde by 0.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,513,551,000 after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Linde by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,365,647,000 after buying an additional 218,746 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after buying an additional 50,882 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Linde stock traded down $4.50 during trading on Thursday, hitting $414.17. 2,110,908 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,892,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $197.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $446.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.18. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

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.