Values First Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 209.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,541 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $460.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $434.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $453.86. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.39 billion, a PE ratio of 33.85, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.