Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Grows Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 12,944 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Linde were worth $25,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth about $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Linde by 195.2% during the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its position in Linde by 87.8% in the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the first quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the second quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $439.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $205.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.85. Linde PLC has a 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $486.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $417.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.52.

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 21.17% and a return on equity of 19.38%. 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 and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $495.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $501.00.

Linde Company 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.