Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s 7th Largest Position

C WorldWide Group Holding A S decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,051,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 127,714 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 5.8% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Linde were worth $431,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in Linde by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 13,919,350 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,182,870,000 after acquiring an additional 354,506 shares during the last quarter. Winder Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $1,892,774,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,081,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,891,976,000 after purchasing an additional 123,174 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Linde by 2.6% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,960,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,102,475,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,766,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,030,146,000 after buying an additional 9,541 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $443.18. 1,583,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,507,545. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $350.60 and a 12-month high of $477.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $420.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.10. Linde had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 18.87%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.58 EPS for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $395.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $482.00 to $510.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $456.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total value of $3,837,704.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at $26,058,131.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Linde news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total transaction of $124,383.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sanjiv Lamba sold 8,306 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.04, for a total transaction of $3,837,704.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,058,131.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,248 shares of company stock valued at $35,811,988. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.