The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 59,087 Shares of Linde PLC $LIN

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 13.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 395,420 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 59,087 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Linde were worth $205,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Linde by 76.8% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Planning Project LLC bought a new stake in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,711,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Linde by 74.2% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Linde by 67,391.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 365,698,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $189,775,619,000 after purchasing an additional 365,156,729 shares during the period. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group increased its holdings in Linde by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN opened at $461.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $212.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $497.33 and a 200-day moving average of $501.41. Linde PLC has a one year low of $387.78 and a one year high of $548.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.09 EPS. Linde’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Citigroup reduced 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. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $525.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Linde from $559.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $545.14.

About Linde

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers across a range of industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, specialty gases and medical gases.

The company serves customers in sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, food and beverage, electronics, chemicals, energy and metals. Linde also designs and builds industrial gas plants and provides engineering, project management and process technology services for industrial and energy applications.

Linde traces its history to 1879 and was formed in its current structure through the 2018 merger of Linde AG and Praxair, Inc The company operates internationally, serving customers in numerous countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and other regions.