Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 740.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 82,931 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Linde were worth $39,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Values First Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 209.4% in the 4th quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 2,277 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $953,000 after buying an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 69,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,796,000 after acquiring an additional 1,915 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 2,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 262.7% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 3,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $461.05 on Friday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $434.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.89.

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

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.