Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,029 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 11,100 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $54,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of LIN opened at $455.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $216.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $434.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $453.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde 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 approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.