Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Clark Capital Management Group Inc.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lessened its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 226,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,013 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $96,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its position in Linde by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $541.91.

Linde Price Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $518.17 on Wednesday. Linde PLC has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $525.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $505.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $239.57 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

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.