Sentry Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sentry Investment Management LLC raised its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 47.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,982 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Linde by 144.8% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $458.53 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $437.49 and a 200 day moving average of $454.56. 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 stock has a market cap of $218.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.