Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 124,438 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,249,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 124,438 shares during the period. Linde comprises 4.3% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Linde were worth $940,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its stake in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 4,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,999,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Linde by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company raised its position in Linde by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 2,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of LIN stock opened at $458.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $436.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $218.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase 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 David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LIN. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

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.