Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 1.3 %

Linde stock opened at $460.86 on Tuesday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $434.36 and its 200-day moving average is $453.66. 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 market cap of $219.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.