Community Trust & Investment Co. Makes New $25.20 Million Investment in Linde PLC $LIN

Community Trust & Investment Co. purchased a new position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 53,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,203,000. Linde accounts for approximately 1.2% of Community Trust & Investment Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Weaver Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 173.3% in the 3rd quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,695,000 after buying an additional 4,937 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Linde by 67.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 330,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $157,103,000 after purchasing an additional 133,430 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,301,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Linde in the third quarter worth $25,948,000. Finally, Mainsail Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth about $308,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LIN. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $563.00 to $538.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Linde in a report on Thursday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $542.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $547.10.

Linde Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Linde stock opened at $493.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $498.15. The stock has a market cap of $227.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. Linde PLC has a 1-year low of $387.78 and a 1-year high of $548.20.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a return on equity of 20.09% and a net margin of 20.43%. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.34%.

Key Linde News

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded Linde to “strong buy,” signaling increased confidence in the industrial-gases producer’s earnings outlook and business durability. Barclays upgrade report
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada retained an “outperform” rating and its revised $549 target still implies meaningful upside from the current share price, despite the modest target reduction. RBC analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: A recent article highlighted Linde’s exposure to industrial gases and long-term secular growth trends, reinforcing the company’s positioning in essential industrial markets. Linde adds exposure to industrial gases and secular growth trends
• Positive Sentiment: Linde was featured among dividend companies viewed as capable of raising prices without materially damaging demand, supporting its defensive appeal and potential for continued cash-flow growth. Five boring dividend stocks that could keep growing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-rating coverage remains an important focus for investors, but the available report provides no specific new earnings or valuation forecast. What investment firms are saying about Linde
• Negative Sentiment: One valuation-focused analysis argued that Linde appears fully valued on current earnings. With a reported forward-looking valuation near 32 times earnings, this could limit upside and make the stock sensitive to weaker growth or disappointing guidance. Linde stock looks fully valued on current earnings

About Linde

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a global industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related equipment and process technologies to customers in healthcare, manufacturing, chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, and other industries. Its products include oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and specialty gases.

The company provides gases through on-site production facilities, pipelines, bulk deliveries and packaged cylinders. It also designs and builds industrial gas plants and offers technologies and services for applications such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, clean energy, semiconductor manufacturing, metal fabrication and medical care.

Linde traces its history to 1879, when German engineer Carl von Linde developed refrigeration and gas-related technologies.