Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,424,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,071 shares during the period. Linde makes up 3.7% of WCM Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC owned about 0.72% of Linde worth $1,641,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $723,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Linde by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 20,203 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,381,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 968,402 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $449,648,000 after buying an additional 463,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 14,025 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $6,512,000 after buying an additional 3,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $3.04 on Monday, hitting $456.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,926,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,836,489. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $217.34 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $395.00 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $471.60 and a 200 day moving average of $452.40.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho increased 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. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now 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 through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde 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.