Community Trust & Investment Co. Sells 1,087 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

Community Trust & Investment Co. lessened its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 53,298 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,087 shares during the quarter. Linde accounts for 1.4% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Linde were worth $27,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in shares of Linde by 96.6% in the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Linde by 69.2% during the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position in Linde by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 73 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group set a $612.00 price target on Linde in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Linde from $576.00 to $553.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Linde from $600.00 to $580.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $543.67.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of Linde stock opened at $489.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $513.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a net margin of 20.43% and a return on equity of 20.09%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. Linde’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Linde’s payout ratio is 41.34%.

About Linde

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.