Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 19,537 Shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN – Get Rating) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,537 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $11,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Linde by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,587,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,315,068,000 after purchasing an additional 488,655 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,273,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,152,024,000 after acquiring an additional 479,117 shares during the period. Eaton Vance Management grew its position in shares of Linde by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 936,553 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $252,486,000 after acquiring an additional 440,797 shares during the period. First Manhattan Co. grew its position in shares of Linde by 537.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 482,439 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $126,476,000 after acquiring an additional 406,698 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $123,432,000. Institutional investors own 78.15% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock opened at $354.86 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $359.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.60. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $262.47 and a twelve month high of $373.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $174.00 billion, a PE ratio of 39.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.84.

Linde (NYSE:LIN – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.30. Linde had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 13.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. This represents a $5.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Linde’s payout ratio is 56.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $402.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $375.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Friday, May 12th. 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $380.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $370.00 to $382.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.76.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 4,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.17, for a total transaction of $1,462,290.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,953.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 4,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.17, for a total transaction of $1,462,290.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,432 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,036,953.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $371.02, for a total transaction of $814,017.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 23,939 shares in the company, valued at $8,881,847.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 66,211 shares of company stock worth $24,589,579. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Company Profile

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Linde Plc is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It designs and builds equipment that produces industrial gases. The company also offers gas production and processing services such as olefin plants, natural gas plants, air separation plants, hydrogen and synthesis gas plants and other types of plants.