Quaero Capital S.A. Reduces Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Quaero Capital S.A. decreased its stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,997 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the period. Linde accounts for about 3.2% of Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was 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 owns 22,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,493,586.48. This trade represents a 16.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds purchased 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843 over the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $457.00 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $434.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $453.94. 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 company has a market cap of $217.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.58, a PEG 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 return on equity of 18.71% and a net margin of 19.89%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in 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 report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

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.