Chicago Capital LLC Reduces Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Chicago Capital LLC lessened its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,565 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 780 shares during the quarter. Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $11,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Linde by 34.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $446.12 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $212.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $434.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.28.

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

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.