GAM Holding AG Decreases Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

GAM Holding AG lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 28.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,144 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 48,403 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 3.8% of GAM Holding AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. GAM Holding AG’s holdings in Linde were worth $50,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Linde by 144.8% during 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. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment 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, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $457.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.01. The stock has a market cap of $217.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS 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.