Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. Sells 4,410 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,224 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,410 shares during the quarter. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $435.51 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $435.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.36. The stock has a market cap of $207.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.07, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.96. Linde plc has a fifty-two week low of $396.07 and a fifty-two week high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 18.16% and a net margin of 19.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LIN. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.