Swedbank AB Reduces Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Swedbank AB reduced its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 972,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 171,857 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Linde were worth $482,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter valued at $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Linde by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in Linde by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Linde by 3.2% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,639,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Trading Down 0.5%

Linde stock traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $537.64. The company had a trading volume of 582,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,463,952. The firm has a market cap of $248.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $548.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $511.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $484.30.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LIN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners increased their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $543.27.

Linde Company 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.