Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 771 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 105,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 771 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Linde were worth $50,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in Linde by 133.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the second quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $437.28. 141,983 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,851,253. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $462.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.24. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is 42.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LIN. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.