World Equity Group Inc. Invests $281,000 in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

World Equity Group Inc. purchased a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,786,289.30. This represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.1 %

LIN stock opened at $458.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $437.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $454.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.