Linde PLC $LIN Shares Acquired by Quantitative Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Linde PLC by 229.3%, bringing its total holdings to 10,670 shares valued at approximately $4.97 million.
• Linde's recent earnings report showed a 2.3% revenue increase, with an EPS of $4.09 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.2% and a payout ratio of 42.67%.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 229.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,670 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 7,430 shares during the quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC's holdings in Linde were worth $4,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LIN. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its position in shares of Linde by 2.8% in the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Linde by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 999 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Linde by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,207 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. increased its holdings in Linde by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in Linde by 3.9% in the first quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 647 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.1%

Linde stock traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $482.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,264,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,803. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $470.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.63. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The stock has a market cap of $226.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.92.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.85 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued 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 yield of 1.2%. Linde's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LIN shares. Citigroup raised Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $519.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at $227,479,445.34. The trade was a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Linde 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.