Jennison Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,092 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $100,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Linde by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,215,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 28.7% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,319,000 after buying an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Linde by 3.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $22,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc grew its stake in Linde by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. M&G Plc now owns 185,903 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $81,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,252 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $448.00 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $213.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $469.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently 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.