Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 215.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,619 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Linde were worth $3,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after acquiring an additional 154,792 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after buying an additional 2,592,682 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 7.6% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Linde by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Linde stock traded down $3.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $434.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,275,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,856,163. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $462.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $455.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $207.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for 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%. Linde's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LIN shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $490.75.

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.