Balentine LLC Sells 105 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Balentine LLC reduced its position in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 16.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 105 shares during the quarter. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LIN. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its stake 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth approximately $52,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $418.68 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $196.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.78, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $465.40 and its 200 day moving average is $464.39. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $408.65 and a 12-month high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.94 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $470.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $521.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stephen F. Angel sold 50,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.38, for a total value of $23,815,274.42. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

About Linde

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.