Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 592 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,791 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $8,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $458.00 on Friday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $436.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.33.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.