BDF Gestion Cuts Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

BDF Gestion trimmed its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,916 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,856 shares during the period. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Linde were worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Linde by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 249,742 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $117,174,000 after purchasing an additional 3,230 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in Linde by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 186,600 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,549,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $465,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in shares of Linde by 27.2% during the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 417,001 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $195,649,000 after acquiring an additional 89,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Linde by 25.9% during the first quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 23,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,970,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN stock opened at $421.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $196.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.85. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $486.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.31.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were 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 was Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $501.00 price target on Linde in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and eight have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.