Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Cuts Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden cut its stake in Linde PLC by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 27,769 shares and ending with 129,827 shares valued at about $55.4 million.
• Linde recently posted better-than-expected earnings, with Q1 EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, both topping analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share and has received broadly positive analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $541.91.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 17.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,827 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 27,769 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Linde were worth $55,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position in Linde by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $507.90 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $234.83 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $503.06 and a 200 day moving average of $468.02. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on LIN. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $541.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Linde

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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