Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 319,776 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lessened its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,147,189 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 319,776 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 1.92% of Linde worth $3,829,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,901,853,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Linde by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,834,631,000 after acquiring an additional 2,957,604 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Linde by 56,467.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $459,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,041 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Linde by 2,293.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $308,251,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $498.00.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $454.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company's fifty day moving average price is $455.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.77. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

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.

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