Divergent Planning LLC Makes New $4.73 Million Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Divergent Planning LLC invested approximately $4.73 million in Linde PLC, acquiring 10,073 shares, which now represents 0.9% of its portfolio.
• Linde recently reported earnings of $4.09 per share, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, translating to an annual yield of 1.3%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Linde's stock, with a consensus target price of $520.00 and multiple firms adjusting their price targets upward in recent reports.

Divergent Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,073 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $4,726,000. Linde makes up 0.9% of Divergent Planning LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 25.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,336 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,416,000 after buying an additional 1,488 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 3.2% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 21,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,920,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $451.56 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $472.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.14. 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 PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $486.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. 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 research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Linde

In other news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $530.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.00.

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.

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