PFG Investments LLC Reduces Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

PFG Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,633 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 680 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup decreased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought 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 $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 1.3 %

Linde stock traded up $5.54 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $443.86. The stock had a trading volume of 892,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,256,862. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $434.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $453.22. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.