Xponance Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,696 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Linde were worth $34,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Marquette Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $27,000. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Linde by 195.2% in the third quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 62 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Linde during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its holdings in Linde by 87.8% during the 3rd quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 77 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Linde Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $498.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $232.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.17, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $452.69 and its 200 day moving average is $449.36. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $510.65.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be given a $1.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. This represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Linde from $540.00 to $490.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $508.20.

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.