Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Everhart Financial Group Inc.

Everhart Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,854 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth $2,087,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 39,358 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,478,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Finally, Empire Life Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter worth $2,722,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $457.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $217.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $434.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.01. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho raised their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

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.