China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $4.23 Million Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target 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, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four research 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ LIN opened at $446.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $434.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.23. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49.

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