Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 423 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $15,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $461.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $219.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $439.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LIN. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.