Linde PLC $LIN Stock: Jackson Square Capital LLC Trims Stake

Key Points

• Jackson Square Capital cut its Linde stake by 87% in the third quarter, selling 14,862 shares and retaining 2,219 shares worth approximately $1.05 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.8% of Linde.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Linde receiving a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $547.10. Recent targets range from $550 to $580.
• Linde reported quarterly EPS of $4.50, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 9.3% year over year to $9.29 billion. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.

Jackson Square Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 87.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 14,862 shares during the quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.9% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,453 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,114,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $384,000. Encompass More Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,875,000. Finally, Forbes J M & Co. LLP bought a new position in shares of Linde during the third quarter worth approximately $18,567,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $580.00 price target on Linde and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $560.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Barclays began coverage on Linde in a report on Monday, October 12th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $577.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Linde from $532.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $547.10.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $3.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $502.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 595,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,318,837. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20. The business's 50 day moving average price is $478.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $498.14. The company has a market cap of $231.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.02 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.09 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

About Linde

Linde plc NASDAQ: LIN is a global industrial gases and engineering company. It produces and distributes atmospheric gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon, as well as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases. The company serves customers through packaged gases, bulk deliveries, on-site production and pipeline systems.

Linde's products and services support a broad range of industries, including healthcare, food and beverage, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, refining, electronics and metals.

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