Longbow Finance SA Boosts Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Longbow Finance SA lifted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Linde comprises about 1.1% of Longbow Finance SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Longbow Finance SA’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,894,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Linde by 108.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $374,086,000 after acquiring an additional 408,659 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Linde by 125.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after acquiring an additional 3,906 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Linde by 5.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.4% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LIN. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $458.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $437.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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, beating 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 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.