CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,974 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 466 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Capital World Investors increased its position in Linde by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,547,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,834,631,000 after purchasing an additional 2,957,604 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,003,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,598,551,000 after buying an additional 30,750 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 9,214,290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,857,741,000 after acquiring an additional 554,480 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $2,901,853,000. Finally, Freemont Capital Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,128,233,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $466.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $456.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $449.05. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.92 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.24 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.75 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the vice president now owns 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. This trade represents a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 1,987 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $10,346,928.56. This trade represents a 8.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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 research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.40.

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.