Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Position Reduced by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,559 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,114 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 3.0% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $38,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,901,853,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 56,467.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,097,982 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $459,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096,041 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $308,251,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $306,585,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $498.00.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN traded up $9.95 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $441.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,342,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,937,907. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $456.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $451.80. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $208.95 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders 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 represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.