Community Trust & Investment Co. Sells 166 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Community Trust & Investment Co. cut its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 1.7% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $26,163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Linde by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,418,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Linde by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 20,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,632,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 17,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,334,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Linde by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,961,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $481.95 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $471.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.80. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $361.02 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $230.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group cut their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $477.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

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.