Tredje AP fonden Has $29.36 Million Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in Linde by 5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 68,862 shares valued at about $29.36 million.
• Linde reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 and revenue of $8.78 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations; revenue rose 8.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 per share, or $6.40 annualized, while Wall Street largely remains bullish with a consensus Buy rating and a $540 price target.

Tredje AP fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,862 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Linde were worth $29,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Linde by 10,454.4% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,033,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,894 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Linde by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $910,129,000 after purchasing an additional 544,850 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,747,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $510.86 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $497.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.99. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $521.28. The firm has a market cap of $236.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. 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 forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is 42.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Linde news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $525.00 price objective on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $540.00.

About Linde

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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