Vest Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,858 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 2,435 shares during the period. Linde makes up 0.9% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $68,333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the 3rd quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 87.8% during the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $516.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Linde from $535.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. CICC Research assumed coverage on Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 target price for the company. Mizuho set a $495.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $501.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.25.

Linde Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $433.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.82. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $486.38. The firm has a market cap of $202.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $420.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $448.66.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 19.38%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior 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. Equities research analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.19%.

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.