Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 302,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 0.6% of Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Linde worth $144,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after purchasing an additional 15,187 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,365,647,000 after acquiring an additional 218,746 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,130,986,000 after acquiring an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $449.44. 2,191,258 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,267. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $464.81 and its 200-day moving average is $455.33. The firm has a market cap of $214.01 billion, a PE ratio of 34.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.93. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.