Custom Index Systems LLC Raises Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Custom Index Systems LLC grew its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Linde by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,435,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Country Trust Bank boosted its position in Linde by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 57,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in shares of Linde by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 53,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 64,830 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,016,000 after purchasing an additional 3,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LIN. Mizuho upped their target price on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 233 shares in the company, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $446.12 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $434.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.17. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $396.07 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm 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 current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

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.