Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Sold by Institute for Wealth Management LLC.

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lessened its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,008 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Linde were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 53,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 64,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,016,000 after acquiring an additional 3,813 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Busey Bank increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Busey Bank now owns 43,478 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,203,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in Linde by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 2,615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $446.12 on Friday. Linde plc has a one year low of $396.07 and a one year high of $487.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $434.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.17. The stock has a market cap of $212.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.05. Linde had a net margin of 19.33% and a return on equity of 18.16%. The company had revenue of $8.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 15.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the firm’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 sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

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.