Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Shikiar Asset Management Inc.

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 2.5% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC now owns 12,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,784,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Linde by 52.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,556 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.2% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,020,000 after buying an additional 5,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $238,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total value of $4,639,068.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $474.04 on Friday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $361.02 and a 52-week high of $483.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $227.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $465.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $449.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.49% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Barclays raised their price target on Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $477.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, August 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $484.18.

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.