Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 1,987 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its holdings in Linde PLC by 3.3%, now owning 62,328 shares valued at approximately $29.24 million as of the last SEC filing.
• Significant institutional ownership is noted, with 82.80% of Linde's stock currently held by institutional investors, reflecting strong interest from large financial entities.
• Linde reported earnings of $4.09 per share in its latest quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, providing a yield of 1.3%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,328 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 1,987 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Linde were worth $29,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of LIN stock traded up $3.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $479.01. 3,725,607 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,088. The company has a market cap of $224.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50-day moving average price is $473.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.38. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $408.65 and a 12 month high of $487.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $576.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Linde from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $519.63.

Insider Transactions at Linde

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.