Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $9.62 Million Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,072 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Members Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Linde by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $830,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 49.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of Linde by 2.9% in the first quarter. CNB Bank now owns 847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded down $3.80 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $441.86. 1,619,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,984,381. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $439.81 and its 200 day moving average is $440.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $361.02 and a fifty-two week high of $477.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.30 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.49% and a net margin of 19.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Bank of America raised their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Linde from $475.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

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.