Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Decreased by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,644 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 7,840 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 0.6% of Everence Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $9,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,848 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,448,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 644 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Linde by 67.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 226,853 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $108,177,000 after acquiring an additional 91,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at $8,531,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of 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 restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Linde Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded down $0.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $413.50. 1,995,891 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,054,045. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $446.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $454.18. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $396.07 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. 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 business posted $3.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Linde's payout ratio is 42.22%.

Linde 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.