Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. decreased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 31.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 533,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 249,163 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.11% of Linde worth $248,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in Linde by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 211,395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $88,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. raised its holdings in Linde by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 168,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $70,337,000 after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 7,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,261,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 138,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $57,986,000 after acquiring an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 300.3% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 26,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,948,000 after purchasing an additional 19,618 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.04, for a total transaction of $908,138.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,346,928.56. This represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total transaction of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,720,279.42. This represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LIN opened at $475.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $223.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $452.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.11.

Linde Company 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.