Linde PLC $LIN is Sterling Capital Management LLC’s 10th Largest Position

Sterling Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 16,893 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 1.6% of Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Linde worth $115,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LIN. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,097,793,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Linde by 172.4% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,407,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,121,092,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523,702 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Linde by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,542,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,511,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182,157 shares during the period. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,405,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,600,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,470,284,000 after acquiring an additional 453,108 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $415.32 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $460.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.42. The company has a market cap of $193.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. Linde PLC has a one year low of $408.65 and a one year high of $486.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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 forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.83.

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.