Spirepoint Private Client LLC Cuts Stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN)

Spirepoint Private Client LLC lessened its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,295 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 85 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $459.75 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $457.97 and a 200 day moving average of $449.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $216.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.97. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.24 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.02% and a return on equity of 18.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Linde to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 22,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.70% 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.