PGGM Investments Buys 155,100 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• PGGM Investments increased its stake in Linde PLC by 104.1% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 155,100 shares, which now represents approximately 2.5% of their holdings.
• Linde reported $4.09 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue increasing by 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 42.67%.

PGGM Investments boosted its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 104.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 304,112 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 155,100 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 2.5% of PGGM Investments' holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. PGGM Investments owned 0.06% of Linde worth $142,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Breakwater Capital Group increased its stake in Linde by 2.3% in the second quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 980 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 2.8% during the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Linde by 2.5% during the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 999 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Linde by 0.8% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Linde by 3.0% during the first quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $475.00 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock's 50-day moving average is $474.80 and its 200 day moving average is $464.19. The company has a market cap of $222.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.300-16.500 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.20 EPS. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LIN. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research note on Monday, June 30th. 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 note on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.63.

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.

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