Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Strengthening Families & Communities LLC

Strengthening Families & Communities LLC reduced its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 124 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 28 shares during the quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde news, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $460.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.89. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $434.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $453.66. The firm has a market cap of $219.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. Analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.