McHugh Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

McHugh Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,475 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Linde by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 98 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $453.70 on Thursday. Linde plc has a 52-week low of $410.69 and a 52-week high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $216.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.45, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $434.41 and its 200-day moving average is $453.44.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly 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 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Sell-side analysts predict that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.