Allworth Financial LP Grows Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,808 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP's holdings in Linde were worth $3,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,508 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. TigerOak Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,087,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Linde by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 39,358 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,478,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Finally, Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 709 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.2 %

LIN traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $462.81. The company had a trading volume of 385,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,202,780. The company has a market capitalization of $220.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $436.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.23. 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.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.