Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Trims Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 40,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Linde were worth $17,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $467.49 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $438.23 and its 200 day moving average is $454.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, research analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total transaction of $3,117,142.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. The trade was a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock valued at $7,423,986. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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 upped their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.82.

About Linde

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.