Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank lowered its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 659 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock opened at $458.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $216.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $452.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.49. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 1.31%. Linde’s payout ratio is 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.