Linde PLC $LIN is Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. has reduced its position in Linde PLC by 39.8%, now holding 63,600 shares, which constitutes 4.7% of its portfolio, valued at approximately $29.84 million.
• Linde's recent earnings report exceeded expectations, with $4.09 EPS against a consensus estimate of $4.03, and a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.3% to $8.50 billion.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook for Linde with an average rating of "Buy" and a target price of $520, while two analysts have rated it as a Strong Buy.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. decreased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 39.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 42,012 shares during the period. Linde makes up about 4.7% of Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Linde were worth $29,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 249,742 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $117,174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 82,952 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Linde by 9.6% during the 1st 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 period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Linde by 25.9% during the 1st 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. Finally, Hourglass Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $935,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Linde from $530.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $520.00.

Linde Trading Down 0.3%

LIN opened at $450.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $471.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $464.05. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $486.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.85 EPS. The business'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. Analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were paid 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 was Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Linde

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.

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 and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.