Insider Selling: Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) VP Sells 2,477 Shares of Stock

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded up $3.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $466.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,280,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,224,729. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $220.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $441.48 and a 200-day moving average of $455.03. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LIN. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.