5,867 Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Purchased by Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,867 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,456,000. Linde makes up about 2.4% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,217,197,000 after buying an additional 154,792 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 372.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,567,958,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592,682 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,438,154,000 after purchasing an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,130,986,000 after purchasing an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 1.9 %

LIN stock traded up $8.83 on Tuesday, reaching $465.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,808,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,429. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $435.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.04. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $221.81 billion, a PE ratio of 34.23, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced 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 increased 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. 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.