Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Reduces Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lowered its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,650 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $24,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total value of $1,163,545.98. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $459.11 on Monday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $456.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 44.09%.

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.