Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Decreases Stake in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC lowered its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,723 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Linde by 144.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Linde by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 97 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,260,958.10. This trade represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Paula Rosput Reynolds acquired 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $441.34 per share, with a total value of $44,134.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,832.22. This trade represents a 75.19 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $467.49 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $438.23 and a 200 day moving average of $454.70. Linde plc has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.