Linde PLC $LIN Holdings Cut by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 541,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,735 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Linde were worth $268,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Linde during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID grew its position in shares of Linde by 96.6% during the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 57 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,450.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management lifted 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 purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Stock Performance

LIN opened at $511.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $236.34 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $516.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.40. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $548.20.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. Linde’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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Linde PLC will post 17.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LIN shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Linde in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Linde presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $548.67.

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.