Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Sittner & Nelson LLC

Sittner & Nelson LLC reduced its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 0.9% of Sittner & Nelson LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Sittner & Nelson LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LS Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Linde by 0.3% in the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,232,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,224,000. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 13.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $465.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $472.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $452.12. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $389.14 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $221.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 2.94 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. This represents a 0.00 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

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.