Certuity LLC Trims Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Certuity LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,042 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after purchasing an additional 154,792 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% during 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Linde by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,438,154,000 after buying an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Linde by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,130,986,000 after buying an additional 56,775 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Linde by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,188,000 after buying an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Linde Stock Down 0.5 %

Linde stock opened at $458.56 on Thursday. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $410.69 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $434.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.86. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by 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.