China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 29.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,329 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 154,792 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 372.8% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 2,592,682 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 1.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 56,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Linde by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $898,188,000 after purchasing an additional 46,843 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.1 %

LIN stock opened at $446.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $396.07 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $434.54 and a 200 day moving average of $453.23.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. Linde’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde 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.