Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,194 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,962 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Linde were worth $5,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 0.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,676,156 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,744,033,000 after purchasing an additional 405,952 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Linde by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,365,647,000 after acquiring an additional 218,746 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 8.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,993,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $874,908,000 after purchasing an additional 160,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Linde by 1.2% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,953,147 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $906,730,000 after purchasing an additional 23,155 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock traded down $5.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $460.30. 654,087 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,831,939. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $472.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.12. The company has a market cap of $219.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $390.38 and a 1 year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released 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. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. Linde's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.22%.

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.