Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by First National Bank of Omaha

First National Bank of Omaha lessened its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 7.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 922 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha’s holdings in Linde were worth $5,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in Linde by 133.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $449.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $464.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $455.18. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $396.07 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.13, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.39 dividend. This represents a $5.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.75.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP John Panikar sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 17,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,136,996. The trade was a 36.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% 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.