Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Aureus Asset Management LLC

Aureus Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 704 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $336,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $460.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $396.07 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $467.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.55. The firm has a market cap of $219.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.