Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $22,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position in Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.74, for a total transaction of $1,163,545.98. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $610,662. This trade represents a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $457.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $216.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $452.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.63. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.09%.

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.