KBC Group NV Sells 156,848 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 23% in the first quarter, selling 156,848 shares and ending with 525,612 shares valued at about $260.6 million.
• Linde reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.33 on revenue of $8.78 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates, while revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain upbeat on Linde, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $548.67; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share.

KBC Group NV decreased its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 525,612 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 156,848 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up 0.7% of KBC Group NV's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. KBC Group NV owned 0.11% of Linde worth $260,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 10,454.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,033,940,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401,894 shares in the last quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Linde by 42,539.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 1,321,809 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $56,361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,709 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Linde by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,245,255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Linde by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,680,710,000 after acquiring an additional 1,130,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $513.22 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $515.95 and its 200 day moving average is $491.54. The company has a market capitalization of $237.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $548.20. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $548.67.

Linde Company 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.

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