Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Raises Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $27,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in Linde by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LIN. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $446.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $434.86 and its 200 day moving average is $453.22.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current 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.