Polaris Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Polaris Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 322,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 81,360 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises 6.5% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $135,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LIN. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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 increased their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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.

Linde Trading Up 1.3 %

LIN stock opened at $460.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $434.36 and its 200 day moving average is $453.66.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.