Linde PLC $LIN Stock Position Lifted by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,935,016 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 179,359 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,251,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter worth $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $29,000. Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 68 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Linde in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Mizuho set a $525.00 target price on Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $540.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total value of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of Linde stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Linde Stock Performance

Shares of LIN stock opened at $517.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.47. Linde PLC has a fifty-two week low of $387.78 and a fifty-two week high of $521.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (NASDAQ:LIN) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.80% and a net margin of 20.44%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

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.