Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Sells 950 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,129 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 950 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 2.1% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $8,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 16.9% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Linde by 1.7% in the third quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,706 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 851 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $406,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded up $3.51 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $436.00. The company had a trading volume of 2,395,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,630. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $436.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $452.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $207.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 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 the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Five 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 stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.75.

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.