Windward Capital Management Co. CA Has $39.63 Million Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Windward Capital Management Co. CA decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 90,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,592 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for about 3.3% of Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Windward Capital Management Co. CA’s holdings in Linde were worth $39,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Members Trust Co increased its holdings in Linde by 3.7% in the first quarter. Members Trust Co now owns 646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 1.3% in the first quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in Linde by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. CNB Bank now owns 847 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of LIN opened at $456.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $451.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $447.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $361.02 and a 12-month high of $479.79.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 19.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on LIN shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.