Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 912,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 109,801 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $452,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 22.6% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 5,236 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Linde by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 908,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $450,376,000 after purchasing an additional 12,325 shares during the last quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. lifted its position in Linde by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 6,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Linde by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $404,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Linde during the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Linde in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.75.

Linde Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ LIN opened at $524.06 on Tuesday. Linde PLC has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20. The company has a market capitalization of $242.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $514.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $488.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous 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. Equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Linde 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.