Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 129 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC reduced its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 1.5% of Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Linde were worth $22,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ LIN traded down $7.57 on Friday, reaching $412.44. The company had a trading volume of 998,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,185,703. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $440.82 and its 200-day moving average is $453.31. The stock has a market cap of $196.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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, Citigroup decreased their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

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.