Primecap Management Co. CA Boosts Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 85.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 523,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 241,000 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.11% of Linde worth $245,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LIN. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd lifted its position in Linde by 445.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth about $52,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the first quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 5,800.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Down 0.7%

Linde stock opened at $414.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $193.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $451.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.08. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Linde from $576.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.83.

Linde 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.