Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Holdings Trimmed by PFG Investments LLC

PFG Investments LLC lowered its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,633 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $438.32 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $435.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.33. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $396.07 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Company 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.