Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,513 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,024 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $73,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $203,000. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,600,000. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,480,000. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $2,045,000. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd boosted its stake in Linde by 156.3% in the fourth quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 10,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after acquiring an additional 6,172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total value of $6,030,344.76. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,177,248.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Linde news, SVP Oliver Pfann sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $414.61, for a total value of $124,383.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.14, for a total transaction of $6,030,344.76. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,248.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 78,248 shares of company stock worth $35,811,988. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $482.00 to $510.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $429.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $460.15.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $423.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $350.60 and a 12 month high of $477.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $455.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $8.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.38 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.42 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

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.