Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $46.31 Million Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its Linde stake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 108,615 shares valued at about $46.31 million.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 beating estimates and revenue of $8.78 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, and analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $540.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,615 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,987 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Linde were worth $46,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Linde in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $497.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $501.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.31. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $521.28.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. DZ Bank cut Linde from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $540.00.

Linde Company Profile

Linde NASDAQ: LIN is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany's Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde's business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.

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