Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,514 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 6,210 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $74,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN traded up $0.29 on Friday, reaching $462.19. The stock had a trading volume of 462,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,205,658. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $436.43 and a 200 day moving average of $454.23. Linde plc has a twelve month low of $410.69 and a twelve month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

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.