Estabrook Capital Management Sells 130 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Estabrook Capital Management lowered its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Estabrook Capital Management’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Linde by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,796,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,434,406,000 after acquiring an additional 141,322 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC boosted its position in Linde by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,168,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,897,000. Cloverfields Capital Group LP acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $718,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in Linde by 46.9% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 48,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,593,000 after buying an additional 15,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $471.91 on Friday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $361.02 and a 1 year high of $479.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $458.07 and its 200-day moving average is $449.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a $1.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $495.00 to $516.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $477.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target 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 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Linde Profile

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.