International Assets Investment Management LLC Sells 934,025 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

International Assets Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,051 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 934,025 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $849,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 0.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $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 raised its position in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the third 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 stake 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 valued at $1,365,647,000 after buying an additional 218,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,438,154,000 after buying an additional 50,882 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $5.86 on Friday, reaching $414.15. 2,642,567 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,473,786. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $440.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's payout ratio is 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six investment 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity

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

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.