Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lessened its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,032 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 5,557 shares during the quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Linde were worth $20,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 0.1 %

LIN stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $462.53. The company had a trading volume of 491,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,925. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, 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. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $436.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.23.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This trade represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. 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 lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $501.82.

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.