Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $14.45 Million Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,017 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Linde were worth $14,450,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in Linde by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Canopy Partners LLC increased its holdings in Linde by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA raised its stake in shares of Linde by 1.9% in the second quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 1,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.0% in the second quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 2,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1.4% in the second quarter. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. CICC Research initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Mizuho set a $495.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $501.00.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ LIN opened at $416.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.36 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.82. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $486.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $426.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

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.