Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,160,000 shares, a decline of 20.6% from the January 15th total of 6,500,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Linde from $520.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Linde from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.82.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In other news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,393,571.38. This represents a 17.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.73, for a total transaction of $2,020,301.05. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 22,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 9,503 shares of company stock worth $4,306,843 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 144.8% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.5 %

LIN stock opened at $461.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $219.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $434.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $453.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Linde has a 12 month low of $410.69 and a 12 month high of $487.49.

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

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.