Country Trust Bank Has $22.53 Million Position in Linde PLC $LIN

Country Trust Bank decreased its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,278 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in Linde were worth $22,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised 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 in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position 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 buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Linde from $475.00 to $455.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $501.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.25.

Linde Price Performance

LIN opened at $440.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $419.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $449.82. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $486.38.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $8.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.62 billion. Linde had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 19.38%. Linde’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Linde News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Karen Firestone (Aureus Asset Management) publicly said she is buying Linde, highlighting the stock as “beaten up” and attractive on a fundamentals/valuation basis — this kind of visible buy from a known manager can draw other investors and support the rally. Trade Tracker: Karen Firestone buys Linde PLC
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets report that David Linde (the film executive) was named CEO of the Sundance Institute. This is unrelated to Linde PLC’s industrial‑gas business but may create headline confusion because of the shared surname; the announcement itself has no operational impact on LIN. David Linde named Sundance Institute CEO
• Negative Sentiment: An investor‑letter summary published on InsiderMonkey outlines what “dragged” Linde in Q4 — signaling headwinds such as softer volumes/mix and margin pressure that weighed on near‑term results. That analysis can keep some investors cautious about near‑term growth and multiples. Here’s What Dragged Linde plc (LIN) in Q4

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.