Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,718 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $2,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 85.2% during the fourth quarter. Helios Capital Management PTE. Ltd. now owns 2,500 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Channel Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Channel Wealth LLC now owns 7,385 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,092,000 after buying an additional 1,723 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Linde by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 79,472 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,898,000 after acquiring an additional 5,021 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Linde by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $898,188,000 after buying an additional 46,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $625,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded down $3.76 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $462.07. 1,883,751 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,288,375. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a market cap of $220.02 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $435.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $454.12. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843 in the last 90 days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.