Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 877,767 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,472 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.18% of Linde worth $367,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $457.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $434.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.94. 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 cap of $217.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.