Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 270,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,345 shares during the quarter. Linde makes up 2.2% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $140,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID raised its position in shares of Linde by 96.6% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC lifted its position in Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Linde by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $480.46 on Tuesday. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20. The company has a market capitalization of $222.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $514.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.88.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is 41.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group set a $612.00 price target on Linde in a report on Monday. Citigroup cut their target price on Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Linde from $559.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.67.

Linde Profile

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher‑value specialty and electronic gases.