Horizon Investments LLC Acquires 717 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in Linde PLC by 5.6%, now owning 13,427 shares valued at approximately $6.25 million.
• Linde recently reported an earnings per share of $4.09, surpassing expectations, with revenues of $8.50 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 2.3% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with the dividend yield currently at 1.3%.

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,427 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $6,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Up 0.5%

Linde stock traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $482.36. 1,160,932 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,466,609. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $468.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $226.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The firm's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $519.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Sean Durbin sold 7,261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.42, for a total value of $3,314,065.62. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,720,279.42. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Linde Company 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.