Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Reduces Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Key Points

• Van Cleef Asset Management reduced its Linde stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 2,829 shares and leaving it with 48,006 shares valued at about $20.5 million.
• Linde reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $4.33 versus $4.27 expected and revenue of $8.78 billion, up 8.2% year over year.
• The company raised its dividend to $1.60 per share quarterly, while analysts remain largely bullish with an average Buy rating and a $540 price target.

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc cut its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,006 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,829 shares during the period. Linde makes up 2.1% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc's holdings in Linde were worth $20,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 10,454.4% during the 4th 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 during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $453,274,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $260,822,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,124,882 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $910,129,000 after purchasing an additional 544,850 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth about $206,747,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $517.58 on Monday. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $521.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $239.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $462.47.

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

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde's payout ratio is 42.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LIN shares. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $540.00.

Insider Activity at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. The trade was a 44.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

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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