Linde PLC $LIN Shares Sold by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC decreased its position in Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,369 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $9,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Blalock Williams LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its position in shares of Linde by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mayport LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Mayport LLC now owns 504 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Linde Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LIN stock opened at $514.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $500.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.85. 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 $238.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.19, 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.95 EPS. Linde’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, sell-side analysts expect that Linde PLC will post 17.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Erste Group Bank raised Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Linde from $552.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Linde from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $540.00.

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.