Washington Trust Bank Reduces Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Washington Trust Bank trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,086 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 659 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank's holdings in Linde were worth $6,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 154,792 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,105,290 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,300,092,000 after purchasing an additional 89,408 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Linde by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the period. Finally, Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of Linde by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 1,680,279 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $703,482,000 after purchasing an additional 49,374 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded up $3.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $461.43. 1,597,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,725,476. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $218.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $454.32 and its 200 day moving average is $454.19.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. Linde's payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.