Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Cut by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP cut its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,089 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,904 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Linde were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wrapmanager Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 1,693 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 272 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in Linde by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,999,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Austin Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Austin Wealth Management LLC now owns 479 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

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Linde Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $3.30 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $464.73. The company had a trading volume of 1,492,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,069. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $454.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a one year low of $410.69 and a one year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Company 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.