Maren Capital LLC Increases Stake in Linde PLC $LIN

Maren Capital LLC increased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 250,441 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,992 shares during the quarter. Linde comprises about 7.1% of Maren Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Maren Capital LLC owned 0.05% of Linde worth $117,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in Linde during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in shares of Linde by 445.0% during the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 1st quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Linde by 5,800.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $408.79 on Wednesday. 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 $190.88 billion, a PE ratio of 29.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.91. Linde PLC has a 12-month low of $404.27 and a 12-month high of $486.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $438.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $459.08.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.09% and a net margin of 20.20%.The business’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.94 EPS. 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 analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Linde’s payout ratio is 40.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LIN. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Linde from $576.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.