Aviva PLC Purchases 68,034 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 681,263 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68,034 shares during the period. Linde accounts for approximately 0.7% of Aviva PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $319,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth $2,097,793,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Linde by 172.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,407,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,121,092,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523,702 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Linde by 18.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,542,991 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,511,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182,157 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt acquired a new stake in Linde in the first quarter valued at $233,405,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Linde by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,600,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,470,284,000 after purchasing an additional 453,108 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $420.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $196.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $459.02 and a 200 day moving average of $463.26. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $408.65 and a twelve month high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.20% and a return on equity of 19.09%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.94 earnings per share. Linde has set its FY 2025 guidance at 16.350-16.450 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 4.100-4.200 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 40.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Linde from $576.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Linde from $510.00 to $507.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $508.83.

About Linde

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.