Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Purchases Shares of 457,764 Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado opened a new position in Linde, buying 457,764 shares worth about $195.2 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represents roughly 0.10% of Linde and 0.7% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 versus the $4.27 consensus and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year. The company also raised guidance, setting FY 2026 EPS at $17.60-$17.90.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, payable June 18, and Wall Street remains bullish with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $541.91.

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado purchased a new stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 457,764 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $195,186,000. Linde accounts for 0.7% of Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado owned approximately 0.10% of Linde at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Linde by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,953,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,167,559,000 after acquiring an additional 354,800 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Linde by 0.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,319,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,176,828,000 after acquiring an additional 172,162 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Linde by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,353,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,820,533,000 after acquiring an additional 35,945 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Linde by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,127,594 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,318,325,000 after acquiring an additional 797,866 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,246,750,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $523.57 on Monday. 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 PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $525.82. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $504.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $471.96. The stock has a market cap of $242.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.95 earnings per share. The company's 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Linde's payout ratio is 42.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LIN. Citigroup boosted their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $541.91.

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.

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