M&G PLC Decreases Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

M&G PLC decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 185,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $86,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 628,631 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $294,941,000 after purchasing an additional 49,937 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Linde by 0.6% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 437,393 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,216,000 after buying an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Linde by 9.4% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 280,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $131,729,000 after buying an additional 24,034 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the second quarter valued at about $260,000. Finally, Pembroke Management LTD acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $300,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Up 1.4%

LIN opened at $426.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $199.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $456.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.07. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $408.65 and a 52 week high of $486.38. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.94 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Linde from $576.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.83.

Linde Company Profile

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.