Greenleaf Trust Sells 1,017 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 1,017 shares, amounting to a 9.5% decrease in ownership, leaving it with 9,709 shares valued at approximately $4.55 million.
• Several analysts upgraded Linde's stock rating, with Citigroup increasing the price target to $535 and Royal Bank of Canada setting it at $576, indicating strong confidence from institutional investors.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.3%, with a payroll ratio of 42.67%.

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,709 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,017 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Linde were worth $4,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 193,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $90,131,000 after buying an additional 82,952 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in Linde by 9.6% during the first quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,841,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Linde by 25.9% in the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 23,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,970,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Exane Asset Management purchased a new position in Linde in the first quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Hourglass Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $935,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN opened at $476.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $223.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.95. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $474.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $464.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The firm had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.300-16.500 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.20 EPS. Research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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