Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 67.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,863 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 81,489 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Linde were worth $18,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,513,551,000 after acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 218,746 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in Linde by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,130,986,000 after acquiring an additional 56,775 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 8.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,993,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $874,908,000 after purchasing an additional 160,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 1.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,953,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $906,730,000 after purchasing an additional 23,155 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN traded up $3.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $453.69. 1,315,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,838,775. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $468.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.94.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Linde's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently 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.