Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 19,786 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 11.7%, selling 19,786 shares, now holding 149,188 shares valued at approximately $69.47 million.
• Analysts show a positive outlook for Linde, with an average price target of $519.63 and multiple firms upgrading their ratings on the stock.
• Linde recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 42.67%.

Guggenheim Capital LLC lessened its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 149,188 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 19,786 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for approximately 0.6% of Guggenheim Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $69,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LIN. AlTi Global Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $971,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Linde by 75.0% in the first quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 193,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $90,131,000 after purchasing an additional 82,952 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 9.6% in the first quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $468,360,000. Finally, Exane Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth about $295,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

LIN stock traded down $3.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $478.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,058,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,003. The company has a market capitalization of $224.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.92. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $471.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.90.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 42.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director directly owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Linde 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.