Primecap Management Co. CA Boosts Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 85.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 523,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 241,000 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Linde were worth $245,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Linde by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,586 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,683,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Linde during the second quarter worth about $222,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Linde by 20.3% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First American Trust FSB increased its position in Linde by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 903 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LIN opened at $414.72 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $408.65 and a 1-year high of $486.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $462.08. The stock has a market cap of $193.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.03. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.94 EPS. Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $508.83.

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.