Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 740.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,125 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 82,931 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Linde were worth $39,407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $461.05 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $434.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $453.89.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde 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.