Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich

Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich increased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich’s holdings in Linde were worth $909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Linde by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,973,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,217,197,000 after buying an additional 154,792 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 372.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,288,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,567,958,000 after buying an additional 2,592,682 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 1.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,015,882 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,438,154,000 after buying an additional 50,882 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Linde by 2.4% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,374,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,986,000 after buying an additional 56,775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Linde by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,145,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $898,188,000 after acquiring an additional 46,843 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. The trade was a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $460.74 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $434.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $453.79. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $219.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS 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.