Sageworth Trust Co Sells 1,700 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Sageworth Trust Co cut its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 58.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co’s holdings in Linde were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $425,000. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Linde by 4,415.6% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 1,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,735,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Linde by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,096 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Linde by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 58,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,460,000 after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $455.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $216.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $434.48 and a 200-day moving average of $453.49. Linde plc has a 52 week low of $410.69 and a 52 week high of $487.49. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This represents a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde 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.