ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Acquires 2,945 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its stake in Linde PLC by 7.7%, acquiring an additional 2,945 shares for a total of 40,956 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million.
• Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares for over $23.8 million, reducing his ownership by 9.48% while retaining 480,543 shares valued at about $227.5 million.
• Analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating for Linde, with target prices ranging from $475.00 to $576.00, indicating positive expectations for the company's performance.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lifted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,956 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Linde were worth $19,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.3% during the second quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.8% during the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Linde by 2.5% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 999 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Linde by 0.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Linde by 3.0% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In other news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LIN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $519.63.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $466.81 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average is $474.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.21. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $408.65 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.89 billion, a PE ratio of 33.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.94.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.300-16.500 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.20 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 42.67%.

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.

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