BDF Gestion Sells 1,175 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• BDF Gestion has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 9.8%, now holding 10,772 shares valued at approximately $5.05 million.
• Several large investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Wellington Management Group, have increased their positions in Linde, indicating strong institutional interest with 82.80% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Linde's recent earnings report showed an increase in revenue to $8.50 billion and a quarterly EPS of $4.09, surpassing analyst expectations.

BDF Gestion trimmed its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,772 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. BDF Gestion's holdings in Linde were worth $5,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Capital Group raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.3% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Linde by 2.8% in 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 grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 2.5% in the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 999 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 0.8% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.0% in the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $1.52 on Tuesday, reaching $479.28. 847,846 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,030,454. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $473.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.39. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $487.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.85 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.