Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Buys 12,300 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 88,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $37,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Linde by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, 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. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of LIN opened at $446.12 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.17. The company has a market capitalization of $212.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $396.07 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.39 billion. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

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.