Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases 4,612 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management increased its stake in Linde by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 4,612 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 49,593 shares worth about $21.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive on Linde, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Buy rating and average target price of $540.
• Linde reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, beat revenue estimates, and reiterated guidance, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,593 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,612 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Linde were worth $21,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Linde by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Linde by 19.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its stake in Linde by 19.3% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in Linde by 3.2% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,639,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LIN. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Seaport Research Partners increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde Stock Down 1.6%

LIN stock opened at $493.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $521.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $496.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $457.12.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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 anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Linde 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LIN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.