Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stock Position Reduced by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC reduced its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 8.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,710 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,120 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $6,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Linde by 46.9% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 48,211 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,593,000 after buying an additional 15,393 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 40.7% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,337 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,975 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $26,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,319,000 after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Linde by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $22,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,136,996. The trade was a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $449.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $470.08 and its 200-day moving average is $452.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

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.