Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 996 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,591 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $10,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $454.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $446.39 and a 200-day moving average of $455.16.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Linde's payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.

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