Hantz Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,797 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,106 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $8,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.6 %

Linde stock opened at $438.32 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $208.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.28, 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $435.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $453.33.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. This trade 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.

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.