Americana Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Americana Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 3,024 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $7,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of LIN traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $461.90. 1,334,477 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,259,478. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $219.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.18.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm's 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 $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.