James Hambro & Partners LLP Purchases 7,463 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

James Hambro & Partners LLP raised its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,463 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises approximately 4.9% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Linde were worth $123,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 47,830.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 936,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $446,377,000 after buying an additional 934,123 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 2,293.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 782,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $327,593,000 after buying an additional 749,763 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Linde by 108.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 784,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $374,086,000 after buying an additional 408,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Linde by 131.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 621,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $296,342,000 after acquiring an additional 353,136 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $439.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $435.45 and a 200-day moving average of $453.33. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $209.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LIN. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.