Exchange Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Exchange Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. Exchange Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 372.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% during 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 in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake 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 during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 131.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,342,000 after purchasing an additional 353,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in Linde by 78.2% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 598,757 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,523,000 after buying an additional 262,691 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock opened at $467.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $438.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $222.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.