Prospera Financial Services Inc Raises Stock Holdings in Linde PLC $LIN

Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,133 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Linde were worth $20,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pathfinder Wealth Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Linde by 5,163.5% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 84,426 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,995,000 after buying an additional 82,822 shares in the last quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Linde by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC now owns 559 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $319,000. Finally, Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV boosted its stake in Linde by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV now owns 664 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $283,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $517.58 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Linde PLC has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $521.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $499.78 and its 200 day moving average is $462.12. The company has a market cap of $239.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th will be paid a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on LIN shares. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on Linde from $580.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Linde presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of Linde stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.