New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 638,101 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.13% of Linde worth $267,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position in Linde by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $465.83 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $221.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $435.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $454.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 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.