Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Makes New $17.16 Million Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 33,057 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,155,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Linde by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,245,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,477 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Linde by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,198,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $511,056,000 after purchasing an additional 231,048 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Linde by 177.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,263,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $538,558,000 after purchasing an additional 807,370 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Linde by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,935,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,251,430,000 after buying an additional 179,359 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Linde by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 348,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,731,000 after buying an additional 90,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $489.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $225.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.62, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $505.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $501.23.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 41.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Linde from $559.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Linde from $560.00 to $546.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $545.38.

About Linde

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.