Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Linde makes up 0.5% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Linde were worth $25,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,165 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,744,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 7,749 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $354,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock opened at $460.74 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.79. Linde plc has a 12-month low of $410.69 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $219.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $501.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the company’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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,493,586.48. This represents a 16.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds bought 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, for a total transaction of $44,134.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,832.22. The trade was a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.