Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. cut its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Linde makes up 4.4% of Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A.’s holdings in Linde were worth $37,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $41,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its position 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 worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $52,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Price Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $453.82 on Friday. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $487.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.09 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.300-16.500 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.20 EPS. On average, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total transaction of $23,815,274.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 480,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $227,479,445.34. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Linde from $530.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $520.00.

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.