Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC Acquires New Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC bought a new position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,867 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,456,000. Linde makes up approximately 2.4% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Linde by 16.9% in the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.5% during the fourth 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 increased its position 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 period. Fourpath Capital Management LLC increased its position in Linde by 0.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Linde by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 2,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $461.05 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $219.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. Linde plc has a 1-year low of $410.69 and a 1-year high of $487.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup lowered 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. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. The trade was a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,503 shares of company stock valued at $4,306,843. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.