PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 175,657 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 101.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 348,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 175,657 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $166,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $444.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $211.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $469.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.14.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. This represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Linde 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.