J. Stern & Co. LLP Sells 151,274 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

J. Stern & Co. LLP lowered its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,326,926 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 151,274 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP’s holdings in Linde were worth $565,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LIN. Norges Bank bought a new position in Linde during the fourth quarter worth about $3,246,750,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 10,454.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,424,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,033,940,000 after purchasing an additional 2,401,894 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Linde by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,610,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,245,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,477 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Linde by 40.2% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,941,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,680,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,001 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the third quarter worth about $453,274,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $518.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $505.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $239.57 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.72. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $525.87.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.91.

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.