Linde PLC $LIN Position Lifted by IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Linde were worth $2,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Capital Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $41,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Linde by 445.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $52,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 0.5%

LIN stock opened at $442.72 on Wednesday. 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 PLC has a fifty-two week low of $408.65 and a fifty-two week high of $486.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $468.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.89. The stock has a market cap of $207.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Linde from $530.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $520.00.

About Linde

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.