ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 8.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 890,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 77,506 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 1.0% of ProShare Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Linde worth $390,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Retirement Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Linde by 44.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 78 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $471.91 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $458.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $449.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $361.02 and a 12-month high of $479.79.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a dividend of $1.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 43.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Bank of America boosted their target price 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $460.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $484.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.75, for a total transaction 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. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.