Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Ascension Asset Management LLC

Ascension Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Linde makes up 1.4% of Ascension Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Ascension Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,696,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 566.9% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,833,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $851,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558,538 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $420,720,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 91.6% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 968,402 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,648,000 after buying an additional 463,096 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth $210,480,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,676,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,744,033,000 after acquiring an additional 405,952 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $479.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $228.97 billion, a PE ratio of 37.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50 day moving average is $461.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $449.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $361.02 and a 52 week high of $483.36.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 19.49%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LIN. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, August 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $484.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction of $4,639,068.75. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 17,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.