Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Sells 953 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,818 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 953 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $14,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Linde by 1,160.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock valued at $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $455.50 on Monday. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $448.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 44.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.