Golden State Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,014 Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,567,958,000 after acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 47,830.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,377,000 after purchasing an additional 934,123 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,593,000 after purchasing an additional 749,763 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 108.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after purchasing an additional 408,659 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Linde by 131.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,342,000 after buying an additional 353,136 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $455.05 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $434.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $453.49. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $216.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.