Townsquare Capital LLC Sells 598 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Townsquare Capital LLC trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $3,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $252,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Linde by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 79,472 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,898,000 after acquiring an additional 5,021 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,023,000. Wealthquest Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $459,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,350,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.9 %

Linde stock traded up $4.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $452.12. 1,726,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,943,223. Linde plc has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $213.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $455.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Linde's previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 44.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $498.00.

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.