Manchester Financial Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Manchester Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,861 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Linde makes up approximately 0.6% of Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.1 %

LIN stock opened at $473.76 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $472.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.19. 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 plc has a 1-year low of $366.12 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $226.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.30 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 19.49%. The business’s revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.57 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.52 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were paid a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $477.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America raised their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.