Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Linde plc (NYSE:LIN)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Linde makes up 1.3% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $11,807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 7.5% in the second quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.6% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Linde by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $641,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Drake & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $439,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.98% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.5 %

Linde stock traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $387.99. 2,820,452 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 946,492. The company has a market cap of $189.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.85. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $262.47 and a twelve month high of $393.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $382.50 and a 200-day moving average of $368.25.

Linde (NYSE:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.10. Linde had a net margin of 17.20% and a return on equity of 16.17%. The business had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 5th will be issued a $1.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 1st. This represents a $5.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Linde from $382.00 to $410.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Linde from $400.00 to $418.00 in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Linde from $420.00 to $444.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Linde from $400.00 to $420.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 12,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.53, for a total value of $4,825,440.52. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 27,161 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,498,541.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 39,695 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.62, for a total value of $15,545,355.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 369,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $144,747,059.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 12,484 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.53, for a total transaction of $4,825,440.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 27,161 shares in the company, valued at $10,498,541.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia 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.