Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3,249.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 14,039 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $6,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Linde by 144.8% in 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 period. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Linde in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. raised its position in Linde by 38.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $458.00 on Friday. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm has a market cap of $218.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $436.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $454.39.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Juergen Nowicki sold 6,782 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.62, for a total value of $3,117,142.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,786,289.30. This trade represents a 31.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total value of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,285 shares of company stock worth $7,423,986. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Linde 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.