T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 96.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 72,958 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,004,454 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $30,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $252,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $1,023,000. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $459,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Linde by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $590,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Argus raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Three equities research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN traded up $2.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $450.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,213,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,242. The company has a market capitalization of $213.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $408.65 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $453.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,159 shares of company stock worth $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.