Principal Securities Inc. Purchases 1,515 Shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,515 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $3,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Linde by 144.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $457.00 on Monday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $434.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $454.01. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a market capitalization of $217.61 billion, a PE ratio of 33.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. Research analysts expect that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total transaction of $1,323,154.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.