Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) VP Sells $963,388.30 in Stock

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Linde Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ LIN traded up $1.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $430.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,319,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,874,054. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $204.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $460.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $455.57.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.63 EPS. Linde's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho upped their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Linde by 6.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 79,472 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,898,000 after purchasing an additional 5,021 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Linde by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 16.8% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,604 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,383 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,036 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $93,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atom Investors LP raised its stake in shares of Linde by 19.8% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 12,269 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.