MML Investors Services LLC Has $19.49 Million Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,876 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $19,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,449,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,513,551,000 after buying an additional 15,187 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Linde by 7.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,112,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,365,647,000 after acquiring an additional 218,746 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 1.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,438,154,000 after acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Linde by 2.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,986,000 after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $442.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $464.12 and a 200-day moving average of $455.40. The stock has a market cap of $210.74 billion, a PE ratio of 33.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.