V Square Quantitative Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 917 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 0.6% of V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LIN. North Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd grew its position in shares of Linde by 445.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $474.41 on Monday. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $474.62 and its 200 day moving average is $463.97. The company has a market cap of $222.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.74, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The company had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.85 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup raised Linde from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $535.00 in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Linde from $485.00 to $504.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Linde in a research report on Friday, June 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $576.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Linde news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 480,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

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.