Aviva PLC Trims Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Aviva PLC lowered its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 555,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 74,448 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 0.6% of Aviva PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $232,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Linde by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,981 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,272,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Linde by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 795 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 2,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $11,685,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $437.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $458.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.06.

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

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 1,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $610,662. The trade was a 65.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,159 shares of company stock worth $5,603,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.