Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ

Key Points

• Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB has reduced its stake in Linde PLC by 2.7%, bringing its total holdings to 154,031 shares valued at approximately $71.7 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently acquired new stakes in Linde, contributing to institutional investors owning 82.80% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts have shown positive sentiment towards Linde, with upgrades from multiple brokerages and a consensus price target of $519.63.

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ cut its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,031 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,273 shares during the quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ's holdings in Linde were worth $71,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter valued at $41,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $482.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.92. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $470.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.63.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.35 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The company's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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. Equities analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Linde's payout ratio is currently 42.67%.

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.

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