Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Stake Decreased by Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lessened its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,670 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises about 1.4% of Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX’s holdings in Linde were worth $5,045,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,066,825,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Linde by 566.9% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,833,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $851,314,000 after buying an additional 1,558,538 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Linde by 104.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,679 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,672,000 after buying an additional 468,415 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 968,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,648,000 after purchasing an additional 463,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $210,480,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Linde stock traded up $0.66 on Friday, hitting $454.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,714,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,497,816. The firm has a market cap of $218.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $439.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $439.50. Linde plc has a one year low of $361.02 and a one year high of $477.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 19.26% and a return on equity of 17.49%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $480.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $458.00 to $452.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $477.25.

Linde 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.