Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Trims Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,075,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 314,262 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.23% of Linde worth $533,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 4.3% in the first quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Blalock Williams LLC raised its stake in Linde by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its stake in Linde by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA boosted its holdings in Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Linde stock opened at $519.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $507.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $479.18. The company has a market capitalization of $240.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $527.94. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.95 EPS. 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, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Linde in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.27.

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.