BLB&B Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $7,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $455.05 on Friday. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $453.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $216.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value of $963,388.30. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.