Davis R M Inc. Sells 2,109 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Davis R M Inc. trimmed its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 154,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,109 shares during the period. Linde accounts for 1.4% of Davis R M Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $73,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. SVB Wealth LLC increased its position in Linde by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,460 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co increased its position in Linde by 120.8% during the 1st quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 3,615 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Linde by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 44,152 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,501,000 after buying an additional 1,525 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,493,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $806,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $454.78 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.66. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $396.07 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

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.