Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,221 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $59,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Linde by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 54,975 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,215,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 28.7% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,071 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,319,000 after purchasing an additional 4,479 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 51,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.9% in the third quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 196,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc lifted its position in Linde by 1.2% during the second quarter. M&G Plc now owns 185,903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $81,611,000 after buying an additional 2,252 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.2 %

LIN opened at $455.70 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $467.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.00. The firm has a market cap of $216.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.39 per share. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,136,996. This trade represents a 36.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.