Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 38.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,196 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in 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. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in Linde by 1,733.3% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 110 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 618.8% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 1.4 %

Linde stock opened at $414.15 on Monday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $396.07 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $439.96 and its 200-day moving average is $453.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $197.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.45, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LIN. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently 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.