Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management cut its Linde stake by 77.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,303 shares and leaving it with 4,727 shares valued at about $2.0 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 versus $4.27 expected and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, implying an annualized dividend of $6.40 and a yield of 1.2%; analysts currently rate the stock a Buy with an average price target of $540.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 77.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,727 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 16,303 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Linde were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $514.97 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $500.74 and its 200 day moving average is $463.85. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $238.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.19, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.95 EPS. Linde's quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price target on Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Linde from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners increased their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $540.00.

Linde 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.