Smith Salley Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in Linde PLC by 3.6%, now owning 51,527 shares worth approximately $24.2 million, making it the 19th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Linde PLC reported earnings per share (EPS) of $4.09 for the recent quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues of $8.5 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.3%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50, equating to an annualized dividend of $6.00 per share and a yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 42.67%.

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,527 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Linde comprises approximately 1.4% of Smith Salley Wealth Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Linde were worth $24,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Linde by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 193,563 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $90,131,000 after acquiring an additional 82,952 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Linde by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 6,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,841,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Linde by 25.9% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 23,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,970,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the last quarter. Exane Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Finally, Hourglass Capital LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 1st quarter valued at $935,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company's stock.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $474.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $222.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $474.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $463.89. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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 (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.85 earnings per share. The business's 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde's payout ratio is presently 42.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup upgraded Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Linde in a research note on Friday, June 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.63.

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.

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